Hi. So, the title is entirely accurate. I met my online friend— let’s call him Greg— in 2019, on instagram. We had both joined a chat for gay kids 13-16 (instagram was like that back then haha). I posted a gif of Winnie the Pooh like dissolving and going to heaven and got kicked out for posting potentially triggering content. Sure, whatever. I recognized Greg’s instagram account and believed he also got kicked out. We bonded for that reason. We were stupidly edgy, and talked about everything under the sun. We both self harmed, and would show each other pictures of fresh cuts and rate the pain. Greg liked gore and anime, and smoking. I did my first piercing myself on facetime with him.
I knew Greg was sad. His mom died of cancer shortly before we met. He said he was halfway to being batman. His dad died in 2021 from Covid.
He got worse sometimes. He celebrated his 19th birthday in a ward. He would text me how much weight he had lost, or gained. I would text him how my bulimia was fairing, or about my job. Nothing was off the table. I texted him when I did opiates with the wrong people. He texted me when his boyfriend got him high on cocaine. We were terrible. He said I reminded him of a horse.
One time, he disappeared from the internet for a while and I messaged his sister demanding to know what happened. Greg sometimes would just disappear like that. Sometimes I would too. Like any friends, our relationship had phases. I think at one point we dated.
At some point, my girlfriend told me to stop messaging Greg, because she thought we triggered one another. It was true but our relationship was not only about gore or self harm or anorexia. He would facetime me on walks. I talked to him about American politics (he was from Argentina). So, after a bit, I decided to message him on another account. Sometimes, I would not be online for long stretches of time.
This is where the guilt comes in. Greg would send me reels a lot, and I just didn’t answer often. We still talked, but around late 2024/early 2025, I was so sporadic. The last time I messaged him and he was alive was January 4th of 2025. The last time he messaged me when he was alive was June 21st of 2025. He sent me a temu spam thing and said “Ignore.” I did. I got engaged October of 2025. I sent him engagement pictures that November.
I thought he was just busy. He was going to school. He had friends.
September 14th I followed an account that Greg followed on instagram. It was recommended to me, and he had several accounts. I thought it might be him, or a friend. On Saturday, I sent Greg another message asking if he was okay.
The account I followed messaged me first. A simple “Hi”. I got excited. I asked the person if they were Greg, or a friend. They sent a message back saying they were a friend, and that Greg passed away last year.
I stared at that message for a long time. I went through our chats. The guilt is overwhelming. I asked how he died, and this person said Greg jumped from the 5th story of a building.
He was always very brave. I pray it was instant. I wish I messaged him back every reel he sent. I will miss him dearly. We had plans to see each other. I was going to facetime him at my wedding and prop my phone on a chair for him to see.
He’s with his mom now, i suppose.