I also had friends who ditched their friends once they had a boyfriend and they would only resurface when they broke up. Like you Shy Introvert, I never once did that when I had a boyfriend. I introduced my bf (now my husband) to all of my friends, invited him to go to parties, concerts, etc.

What happened then is my friends ditched me. I was more than willing to make time for them individually, but the fact is since my now husband is older than I am, I matured a bit faster than my friends did. I had to live an adult lifestyle a lot of them simply weren't ready for, because they didn't want to do the work or because they didn't have the maturity level. Either way, I noticed over time my friends separating from me because they didn't like that I went to bed at a reasonable time to go to work in the morning on the weekends, but it was the best way for me to get money and see my now-husband.

My husband really was the first guy to make me feel special and feel loved (even though we do have problems from time to time). But I didn't ditch my friends or push them away. People did that to me, so I guess what I am saying is it often works both ways.

However, I do see younger women doing this a lot. I think it's because younger women are drilled into believing that having a bf is what defines them as women and whether or not they are attractive. Once a woman gets a bf, they become her world because it validates all of the societal expectations on young women.