'My nosy neighbour has been spreading rude rumours about me - I'm furious'

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The neighbour had been snooping and telling lies (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)
The neighbour had been snooping and telling lies (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)

A woman has told of her ‘horror and outrage’ after finding out who is responsible for the salacious lies being spread about her home life. After admitting she was the breadwinner as her ‘wonderful’ husband of 20 years was unable to work due to mental illness, the 41-year-old told how he was the ‘seriously good’ homemaker, while her high-paying job allowed her to work from home, also enabling the couple to move to a new house with a big garden at the end of last year.

And while the couple loved their new home, one neighbour, in particular, was proving to be a problem: “One of our neighbours, let's call her Bev, is incredibly nosy,” she said. “When we moved in, she was the first to show up, not to help, but to gossip about other neighbours, warning us not to trust them too much and things like that.”

She also revealed that her husband’s best friend had moved into their spare room two months ago, after losing his job and his wife and spiralling into despair: “The poor guy struggled extremely with bills, divorce, and an upcoming depression, so my husband and I decided, to get him out of this situation.”

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She said: “It works out really well, he's a very nice guy, doesn't demand things from us, he's just happy to have a safe space to heal and get back on his feet. We do things together, but he also stays happily in his room, when my husband and I want to be alone.”

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And while their home set-up was blissful, the neighbourhood judgement was less so, which she found to her horror on a recent trip to the supermarket: “When I was grocery shopping a few days ago I met some neighbours who gave me weird looks, which confused me. Since I'm not the type to just brush things off, I stopped and asked, what the problem was.”

After they told her that their neighbour Bev had been snooping on the couple’s movements, they admitted she had also started spreading rumours that the woman lived with two men, and was earning her money by being a prostitute: “She openly called it a wh**e house, since she rarely sees me go to work and my husband never goes to work. She told the neighbourhood that I must earn my money on my back, otherwise, I couldn't afford such a nice house. I was livid and told my neighbours on the spot what's really the case.”

After bumping into her nosy neighbour in the car park, she said she went into ‘a rage’: “I stormed up on her and started screaming at her. I told her, whomever I invite in my house is none of her business and to stay the f**k away from us, my family is not her concern and if she ever bad mouths me again, that won't go well. Then I simply left, not wanting to hear any word from her.”

After admitting that some of her friends had accused her of over-reacting, she wanted to get Reddit readers' responses: “I’m here for final judgement,” she said. Most readers were on her side, with one saying: “This could be a legal case in my country. If you tell lies about somebody and destroy their reputation, you can be sued, because of the effects those rumours can have on your work and social environment.”

Many people offered judgement based on where they lived, with one saying: “I’m in Maryland. I would be fuming, while one UK reader jokingly replied: “UK here, I'd have written her a sternly worded letter. Then probably sent round some food to apologise for the letter.” Others said that talking about others had become the norm, as there were never any consequences: “So glad you stood up for your family.”

One reader said they would have let the gossip work in their favour: “Personally I'd just let it go. One neighbour telling all the other neighbours that I'm some sort of crazed deviant means all of my neighbours are leaving me alone I think you need to put a stop to this with a lawyer's letter straight away,” commented one. This is slander pure and simple.”

Emma Rowbottom

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