When she was only 24 years old, Monica Lewinsky became a household name — and a pariah — around the world.

Without mercy, she was globally branded with a scarlet A in the press, in the justice system, and in the halls of power.

Though she never should have made the immature and misguided error to have an affair with a married man, let alone a high-profile married man (i.e., the President of the United States)...

As a young woman, she was viciously thrown to the wolves, like a lamb to slaughter, by the prosecution, whose ace-in-the-hole was Linda Tripp.

Though Linda was 24 years older than Monica, Monica considered her to be a close friend filled with motherly wisdom and guidance.

Unfortunately, she realized too late that her so-called friend was an opportunistic wolf in sheep's clothing, who was eager to gain wealth and fame from a salacious scandal — and Monica's public downfall — via a tell-all book.

The betrayal Monica experienced at the hands of someone she called her friend is a cautionary tale for women and men of all ages. Which I discuss in this revised excerpt from my enlightening 2-part series on Friendship: No, We Can't Be Friends — 5 Reasons.

Green With Envy

More often than not, the people who are in your life in order to benefit off of you, they are secretly jealous of you.

They are secretly envious of you. Even if they have more than you.

They might be envious of your Loving spirit. They might be envious of the fact that, as a Loving person, many people love being around you.

They might be envious of the fact that you have hair that looks like this, and they don't. Or you have a figure that looks like this, and they don't. Or you have a husband or wife that looks like this, and they don't.

They could be jealous for any number of sensical and nonsensical reasons. And they will go out of their way to stay in your orbit, in your personal life, in your Friendship Circle...

Waiting for a chance to strike.

Along the way, they are collecting information about you. They are learning as much about you as possible, so they can have something to use against you.

Either to gossip about you behind your back and have other people turn against you. Or to stab you in the back. Or to steal something that's yours. Steal your husband. Steal your job. Etcetera.

Also, they are waiting for a time when things aren't going well in your life. Because life is a series of ups and downs, right? So they are waiting for a low moment in your life so they can strike against your self-esteem or sabotage you.

Or they will wait till you're on a high; when life is going well for you. And they will wait for an opportune moment to sabotage your happiness or success.

A Tale as Old as Time

We see this in history.

Who betrayed Jesus? Someone who was closest to him.

Who betrayed Caesar? Someone who was closest to him.

We have the expression, "Et tu Brut?" for a reason. Because Caesar was like, "I mean, you're stabbing me in the back too, Brutus? I thought we were close."

Brutus was like, "I never liked you. I was jealous of you this entire time, and waiting for a chance to stab you in the back."

We even see it in recent history, with Monica Lewinsky. Who turned her in? Who fed her to the wolves?

Her so-called friend:

One key thing Monica said to Linda, in confidence, that was recorded on those secret tapes, was:

Subconsciously, Monica knew she couldn't trust Linda.

Deep down, she knew her so-called friend was untrustworthy.

Unfortunately, she underestimated just how conniving and dangerous her fake friend turned out to be.

🎙️ Listen to the full episode

No, We Can't Be Friends – 5 Reasons (Part 2)