I honestly don’t know if I’m being unreasonable or if the people around me are just completely out of touch.

We were together for almost 5 years. No history of cheating (that I knew of), no massive fights, nothing that felt “relationship-ending.” We were talking about moving in together this year.

Last week, I borrowed his phone because mine died. I wasn’t snooping. I just needed to book a ride. A notification popped up saying, “Miss you already. Last night was really fun.”

My stomach dropped.

I opened the messages. There was flirting, inside jokes, call logs, and pretty clear evidence that this wasn’t just a one-time drunk text. When I confronted him, he denied it at first. Said she was “just a friend” and I was misreading things.

When I showed him the messages, his story changed.

He said it was a mistake.

He said he was drunk.

He said it only happened once.

He said it “didn’t mean anything.”

Then came the part that really messed with my head: he admitted his friends knew about it. Apparently, they’d known for weeks. The girl I’d expressed discomfort about before? I was told I was “overreacting” and “insecure.”

I told him I was done. I said I couldn’t rebuild trust and I didn’t want to stay in a relationship where cheating was something I had to “work through.”

I didn’t scream. I didn’t break anything. I just left.

Since then, I feel like I’m on trial.

His friends keep telling me I’m being dramatic and throwing away five years “over one mistake.” One of them literally said, “If you really loved him, you’d at least try to fix it.”

His mom messaged me saying, “No man is perfect. Relationships require compromise and forgiveness.”

Now the narrative is that I gave up too easily. That I didn’t fight for us. That I’m selfish for choosing my pride over a long-term relationship.

But I keep thinking… if he loved me, why was there someone else at all?

So, AITA for walking away immediately instead of giving him another chance?