u/FluidDragonfruit6981

Hey guys, I really need outside advice on a situation that’s honestly been emotionally destroying me these past few days.
Basically, I’m in a friend group of 3. Me, my friend “H,” and my other friend “S.” We’ve all been really close for a long time. Recently, someone started anonymously texting H from fake/TextNow numbers pretending to “warn” her about me. The messages were extremely manipulative and detailed. They were saying horrible things about me and claiming that I was secretly talking badly about H, spreading personal information about her, insulting her appearance, calling her names, making disgusting comments, attacking her religion, etc.
One thing that made this so believable to H is that the anonymous person knew some very personal/private things that H thought only me and S knew. There was also a screenshot involved that was taken out of context/made to look really bad, and the anonymous person twisted it into something awful and claimed I said disgusting things about H that I would genuinely never say in my life.
The messages basically painted me as this evil fake friend who secretly hates her and humiliates her behind her back. They were also emotionally manipulating H and trying to isolate her from me by acting like they were “protecting” her and saying things like she’s stupid if she keeps being friends with me.
The hardest part is that H fully believes it’s me.
She was crying, begging me to “admit it,” saying “I’m not dumb,” and no matter how much I tried to calmly explain that I didn’t do this, she thinks I’m lying. I completely understand why she’s emotional because if someone anonymously sent me detailed messages claiming my best friend hated me, I’d probably be shaken too. I’ve tried validating her feelings while also defending myself, but now she says she needs space and she seems really hurt and angry at me.
S fully believes me and has been defending me, which is now also causing tension because H feels like S is “taking my side.” Me and S have known each other longer, but H is still our friend and I genuinely care about her a lot, which is why this hurts so much.
What’s also confusing is that I genuinely don’t think it’s S. She was literally traveling/on a flight during part of this situation, and honestly I don’t believe she would do something this evil. Personally, I think it’s possible H may have told someone else some of these private things and forgot, or maybe someone overheard things, or someone close to us knows more than we realize. But because the anonymous person sounded convincing and knew details, H became convinced it had to be me.
I feel completely defeated because I don’t know how to prove innocence for something I genuinely did not do. I’m also heartbroken because the accusations are so extreme and cruel that it hurts me knowing my friend now thinks I’m capable of saying those things about her.
Has anyone dealt with something like this before? What would you do in my situation? Do I give her space? Keep trying to explain myself? I honestly feel helpless.

Hey guys, I really need outside advice on a situation that’s honestly been emotionally destroying me these past few days.
Basically, I’m in a friend group of 3. Me, my friend “H,” and my other friend “S.” We’ve all been really close for a long time. Recently, someone started anonymously texting H from fake/TextNow numbers pretending to “warn” her about me. The messages were extremely manipulative and detailed. They were saying horrible things about me and claiming that I was secretly talking badly about H, spreading personal information about her, insulting her appearance, calling her names, making disgusting comments, attacking her religion, etc.
One thing that made this so believable to H is that the anonymous person knew some very personal/private things that H thought only me and S knew. There was also a screenshot involved that was taken out of context/made to look really bad, and the anonymous person twisted it into something awful and claimed I said disgusting things about H that I would genuinely never say in my life.
The messages basically painted me as this evil fake friend who secretly hates her and humiliates her behind her back. They were also emotionally manipulating H and trying to isolate her from me by acting like they were “protecting” her and saying things like she’s stupid if she keeps being friends with me.
The hardest part is that H fully believes it’s me.
She was crying, begging me to “admit it,” saying “I’m not dumb,” and no matter how much I tried to calmly explain that I didn’t do this, she thinks I’m lying. I completely understand why she’s emotional because if someone anonymously sent me detailed messages claiming my best friend hated me, I’d probably be shaken too. I’ve tried validating her feelings while also defending myself, but now she says she needs space and she seems really hurt and angry at me.
S fully believes me and has been defending me, which is now also causing tension because H feels like S is “taking my side.” Me and S have known each other longer, but H is still our friend and I genuinely care about her a lot, which is why this hurts so much.
What’s also confusing is that I genuinely don’t think it’s S. She was literally traveling/on a flight during part of this situation, and honestly I don’t believe she would do something this evil. Personally, I think it’s possible H may have told someone else some of these private things and forgot, or maybe someone overheard things, or someone close to us knows more than we realize. But because the anonymous person sounded convincing and knew details, H became convinced it had to be me.
I feel completely defeated because I don’t know how to prove innocence for something I genuinely did not do. I’m also heartbroken because the accusations are so extreme and cruel that it hurts me knowing my friend now thinks I’m capable of saying those things about her.
Has anyone dealt with something like this before? What would you do in my situation? Do I give her space? Keep trying to explain myself? I honestly feel helpless.