Is OTHER wrong in the post ? POST : TLDR: I’m letting the behavior of a close friend who has unrequited feelings for me cause negativity in my life and potential future relationship. I want to burn the bridge. AITA?

Backstory: “R” and I have been friends since 2015. We get along great and have similar personalities/moral compasses/interests and just generally vibe well. In 2017, he confessed that he had romantic feelings for me and asked if I’d be willing to take our friendship to that level. For lots of reasons, I said I’d rather just continue on as friends. He’s always been very supportive, trustworthy, fun to be around, and a solid person to have in my corner so I certainly didn’t want to end the friendship because of this.

Since that time there have been several occurrences between him and I that left me feeling uncomfortable/disrespected/disregarded. For example, the time he refused to get out of my car until I told him “the real reason” for not wanting to be with him. He refused to accept that I don’t believe we are romantically compatible and accused  me of being shallow and not giving him a chance because I am out of his league. His words but tbh I don’t disagree. I’ve worked hard through my 20s on my emotional health, financial independence, self confidence, and overall just learning to be content with the person that I am. I feel as though he has a lot to become aware of/work on in order to become someone I could be truly happy with and proud to call my partner. Anyway, I felt very trapped in that moment and like he was being selfish and unfair. There have been a handful of other moments similar to that. Some of which happened when he was drunk and borderline aggressive. At times he made me feel unsafe.

Additionally, the few times I’ve brought a potential romantic interest around the friend group, he pouts. He’ll get belligerent drunk or stay outside and chain smoke cigarettes alone. Other friends have noticed this as well, so I know it’s not just me and my tendency to be hyper-aware of (and maybe sometimes even fabricate) the moods of the people I care about. As a result of this, I feel guilty. I don’t want to be the reason for his unhappiness. I also resent the absolute shit out of him.

Around Thanksgiving, I started seeing a new guy. Right now he lives several hours away so when he comes into town I spend a lot of my free time with him. I also pay A LOT of attention to him if he comes out with the group because, well, I’m super into him! R can’t stand it and he’s not being subtle at all. He hasn’t said anything to me but he acts like a child whose just been scolded every time I bring this guy around. I’m sick of it. I realize I could just not care about R and be happy and smitten and enjoy getting to know this new fella more but I’m just so bothered by the whole situation. In March, new guy moves back to my town and I don’t want anything to cause turbulence between him and I as we’re trying to develop a potential relationship.

So, Reddit, WIBTA if I completely ended my friendship with R in order to move forward with my romantic life guilt-free?