“She didn't get busy — she chose them over me.” Dunbar's Oxford group found a new partner displaces on average two members of the closest circle. That's bandwidth arithmetic, not a ranking. The script files the math as a betrayal with your name on it.
WIPE_SCRIPTS
The Science of Losing Friends to Marriage and Kids: Why Circles Shrink on Schedule
14 scripts this research explains — When friends disappear into marriages and babies — or when you're the one who disappeared — the self-talk usually makes
“Parenthood made me irrelevant — I'm no longer worth inviting.” Surveys find roughly two thirds of new parents feel cut off from their friends. The time crunch is real; the script's move is turning a season into a sentence — declining invitations on everyone's behalf before they're sent.
The Vanishing Parent
“Different life stages means the friendship is over — and her choices are a comment on mine.” Kalmijn's dyadic-withdrawal research shows networks shrink around marriage and kids for everyone; it's structure, not judgment. Roberts and Dunbar found friendships decay without contact — and survive on small maintenance signals. The script cancels the signals first.