Listen to your cousin. Let it go.

Hey, I get it. We get more angry when people hurt our loved ones than we do when people hurt us. We also have more difficulty forgiving them, even after our loved one has let it go and moved on, as your cousin has. It's normal behavior to remain angry, but it's also pointless and counterproductive behavior.

It's the right thing to do to stand beside a friend who has been wronged and to be angry at the offender. But once the issue is resolved and the friend is over it, there is no more benefit to our righteous anger. It might seem admirable to stay pissed at the person on his behalf, but it's not. It does him no good anymore; in fact, if he has forgiven the one who hurt him and is trying to move on, holding on to our anger can be an obstacle to him. How can he find the peace and closure he needs when we're still fuming and bitching about what the person did and how much we dislike them?

In your case, I'm not saying you have to like your former friend or even change your opinion that she is a jerk, but at this point it's best to keep that opinion to yourself. Your cousin is moving on, and the best thing you can do for him as a friend is to move on, too. Do it for yourself, too--staying angry hurts you a lot more than it hurts your ex-friend.

You are a good friend to stand up for him, but he doesn't need it anymore. You have proven your loyalty. Let him get past this.

Thanks for the question.