My best friend hasn't paid back $2,000 I lent her a year ago and never brings it up. How do I bring it up without ending the friendship?

Money between friends gets awkward specifically because nobody wants to be "that person" — but silence doesn't actually protect the friendship, it just delays the discomfort. 1. Bring it up directly and without apology: "Hey, I wanted to check in about the $2,000 — what's a realistic timeline for that?" You lent it, you're allowed to ask about it plainly. 2. Propose something concrete — a monthly amount, a date — rather than leaving it open-ended again. Vague asks get vague non-answers. 3. Separate the money conversation from the friendship conversation in your head going in. You can love someone and still expect to be repaid; those aren't in tension, even though it can feel that way in the moment. 4. If they get defensive or avoidant, that tells you something real about how this is going to go, and it's better to know that now than to keep guessing in silence. A friendship that can't survive "can we talk about the money I lent you" was already carrying more strain than the loan itself.