My husband was ghosted by his best friend while we said final goodbyes before Hurricane Melissa — now he's grieving

We went to Jamaica for our honeymoon and to visit family, and as the storm closed in we called friends to say goodbye — one of his closest friends texted blame and then disappeared, and my husband is devastated.

I’m writing from the middle of what feels like a nightmare: my husband (26) and I (25) were stuck through Hurricane Melissa while visiting family in Jamaica. Flights and transport failed, we tried to leave, and we did everything we could to help others — but one of his best friends reacted by blaming my husband over text for being there and then stopped replying. My husband hasn’t recovered; he cries at night and has stopped doing things he loved with his friends, and I’m struggling to know how to help.

I watched my husband lose a friendship overnight when his best friend blamed him for staying in Jamaica during the hurricane and then ghosted him — he’s been quietly grieving ever since.

We’re newlyweds on our honeymoon who also planned to visit family in Clarendon. I’m 25F, he’s 26M; storms were in season but we bought travel insurance and attempted to leave — everything that could go wrong did, flights and roads vanished, and staff at the resort kept and cared for what we couldn’t take. While we called friends to say we loved them and that we might lose connection, his best friend replied over text blaming my husband for being there and told him to "check the weather next time," then stopped answering.

"He texted that it was my husband’s fault and then ghosted him — he just disappeared when we needed people the most."

The situation escalated not through argument but through silence: the friend never answered calls and the text cut contact. We stayed behind to help others — offering our room where needed, helping people with mobility, providing medical and provisional aid — and later faced a wave of online abuse and DMs from strangers who judged our choices. My husband’s grief has been deep: he cries at night, quit playing the group games they used to share, and is mourning not the storm but the sudden end of a close friendship.

"We called to say we love them and prepare for losing connection — instead one friend blamed us and then vanished."

The immediate outcome is emotional: the friend has ghosted, my husband is grieving, and I’m trying small practical things to help — we played Resident Evil 5 over his favourite soup as a comfort, and I’ve been collecting supportive new contacts on Steam — while also defending our choices to family and strangers who angrily assumed we were reckless. The material losses were handled by resort staff who kept our belongings; what remains is the relationship damage and the late-night tears.

🏠 The Aftermath

After the hurricane passed we survived physically but the friendship did not — his best friend has not reconnected and my husband is grieving that loss instead of celebrating our honeymoon.

We lost most of our luggage and souvenirs; resort staff looked after belongings we couldn't carry. We stayed to help families and prioritized getting others with mobility issues to safety when we could.

Socially, my husband lost regular gaming time with those friends and now avoids the games they used to play together; emotionally, he’s withdrawn at night. I’ve been offering comfort, cooking his favourite soup, and bringing back small routines like co-op gaming to rebuild normalcy.

The storm didn’t just rip roofs off — it pulled a friendship apart in a single text.

We both feel a mix of anger, sadness, and disbelief; I’m not gloating about being right — this is grief for my husband, and I’m focused on what he needs rather than punishing the absent friend.

💭 Emotional Reflection

This is primarily heartbreak, not a simple right-or-wrong. My husband is grieving a friendship that ended suddenly; the friend’s reaction — blame and silence at a moment of crisis — feels like abandonment. At the same time, strangers online judged our choices without the context: we tried to leave, we had insurance, we prioritized helping others and family, and the resort staff assisted us when travel collapsed.

The lesson here is about expectations and communication: in fear, people reveal themselves. Some friends stepped up and comforted us; one close friend chose to blame and to walk away. That mismatch between who you think someone is and who they are becomes shocking when you’re vulnerable.

Reasonable people can disagree about the trip decision, but grief over a lost friendship is real and deserves care. Supporting someone through grief doesn’t require fixing the other person — it means being present, rebuilding small routines, and validating the hurt.

Here are a few likely community reactions to this situation:

"If he blamed your husband and ghosted during a crisis, that’s abandonment — grief for that loss is valid."

"You two tried to do the right things — helping others, prioritizing those in need — people judging you from afar don’t know the full story."

"Focus on small comforts: consistency, games you played together, and reminders that you're not alone — those little rituals help grief."

Responses will be mixed — many will defend your emotional reaction to being ghosted at a crisis moment, others will pick at logistics — but the common themes are abandonment, the value of presence, and small practical comforts as tools for recovery.

🌱 Final Thoughts

This is a story about surviving a storm and also about surviving the emotional fallout when someone you count on disappears. Practical help (soup, shared games, company) and steady emotional presence matter more than grand gestures right now.

The hurricane took your belongings but the friend’s silence took something else — trust and the routine of a shared life. Repairing that will take time and consistent care.

What do you think?
Would you have left, or stayed and kept trying to make it work? Share your thoughts below 👇