Whose side are you on anyway?

It's happened to all of us, we've bumped into a friend's ex we used to hang out with and not known how to act. Or perhaps two people in your group have fallen out and you don't know what to do.

The question is, should we be taking sides at all? Should we stick with the friend who has stuck by us through our own hard times/the friend who we've known since we were teeny tiny or stay neutral and sit on the fence?

This happened to me only yesterday, as a friend's ex boarded the train I was on. I tried to stay away but we made eye contact as we were leaving the train, and there was no turning back, I had to say something!
I should add that it was a pretty messy break up, but I didn't want to be rude and made general small talk without talking about the mentioned ex, and all was well.

Image courtesy of searchquotes.com

To me taking sides seems a bit childish, although sometimes maybe it's acceptable (I'm thinking the Millie/Louise/Spencer scenario in Made In Chelsea here!). In a case of a friend's ex, steering clear when the break up is still a sore subject is probably your best bet - getting chummy with her ex while she's still in the practicing 'All by myself' Bridget Jones Style and eat my body weight in chocolate phrase might not be a good idea. But when they have both moved on and there's no awkwardness, simple small talk will stop you from being rude and anti social.

If it's a friend scenario, staying neutral will help to make sure you don't lose any friends. Just make sure a nasty friend doesn't start on you, or that you become the go between finding out what they're both saying about each other behind their backs. Also taking a side could come back to bite you in the future, if they make up and questions are raised as to why you stuck with one friend and not the other.