Thanks. I think I said this in my post - I don't really believe he's done anything wrong. The problem is more the awkwardness being introduced by my parents' jealousy of him (I'm maybe 5% jealous, but not really since (a) I am not motivated by money and (b) I have no interest in his career, and of course, the biggie, (c) he's my best friend), I think, and the slight sense of a power dynamic it has introduced. I don't think I actually mentioned this in my post, but yes, my parents' have made a few unfavourable comparisons between him and me. It boils down to the fact that they're part of the grasping middle classes, basically, with all that entails.