Friendship Red Flags? Giggly Squad Hosts Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo Are Here to Help (Exclusive)

In an excerpt from their new book ‘How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously,’ the podcast hosts give advice on navigating the sticky situation

By Carly Tagen-Dye

Published on April 11, 2025 11:00AM EDT

Since 2020, best friends and Summer House alums Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo have been hosting discussions, on everything from pop culture to dating to their personal lives, on their popular podcast Giggly Squad. And, in a new book, the duo are bringing that wisdom to the page.

PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously, out April 15 from Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. The book delves even deeper into Berner and DeSorbo’s hot takes on topics like sex, social media and flirting, among others.

The book will also include interactive elements, like teen magazine-esque quizzes, and will offer tips on making it through awkward situations, navigating romantic relationships, manifesting your goals and more.

“This book feels like calling your best friend for a long overdue catch-up,” the book’s synopsis states. “No topic is off limits. No subject too small. And, most importantly, nothing is so serious that you can’t find a way to make it seem less scary by poking fun at it.”

Read — and listen — below for an exclusive excerpt from How to Giggle, all about spotting red flags in friendships.

Relationships come in all shapes and forms. There are situationships, besties, third wheels, acquaintances, social climbers, soulmates, Instagram followers, twin flames, friends with benefits and the list goes on. Regardless of who/what they are, they can be anxiety-inducing because they all involve social interaction. In your 20s, it’s natural to want to fit in with as many people as possible, and then in your 30s it becomes all about “boundaries” and “protecting your space” and canceling plans because it’s “too windy.” Relationships of all kinds are mirrors to help you learn about yourself — and as a result, these interactions teach you about the kind of people you want in your circle. Friend drama and heartbreaks are all essential parts of developing a great sense of humor, so lean in and feel your feelings! Based on mistakes we’ve made, we’ve come up with friendship red flags to help you navigate the people in your life so that eventually you will be surrounded by only comfort people.

Making friends is not straightforward, and you will have a lot of different friends throughout your life. Sometimes you will feel like you have too many friends, and sometimes you will feel like you have no friends. In our experience, quality over quantity is important. You’d rather have one friend you can count on than twenty who just comment “She ate” on your Instagram pictures. You may feel like if you don’t have a lot of friends, you’re not doing well in life, but that’s not the case. There are different types of friends for different times in your life, and recognizing what type of friendship you have with each person can help with navigating the complicated friend game.

The Friends Who Just Want to Party

If you love to go out and party every night, then you should. Dance, drink, make out with DJs and puke in your purse in Ubers. As women, we always love having a wingwoman with us, and sometimes a big group of friends that are always down to party. But you should also remember that your party friends might not be the most reliable when the morning comes around. You may like each other because you both enjoy molly or weed or whatever you’re into but not actually have the same friendship values.

These people are great to dance with, take Insta stories with to pretend you are having the best time at the club even though you’re sweaty and bloated, and text about your hangover the next day. However, these large party groups have the highest hit rate for drama. There can be weird hookups, jealousy and gossip behind each other’s backs. Whenever there are more than two friends and alcohol, it might as well be a reality TV show. Know that it is normal to fall out with some of these groups throughout your 20s. Enjoy the times you have with them and get out when the toxic levels override the fun levels.

Sometimes people get scared to get out of their big friend groups because you feel like you are going from tons of friends to no friends. There is a lot of groupthink in a friend group that makes you feel weird to have your own opinion or stand up to someone who is treating everyone like s—. Sometimes people would rather be in a big friend group and be treated badly than be alone. News flash, you can feel lonelier in a huge group of friends who suck than in a small group of two cool friends who get you. Stop counting your friends, this isn’t Facebook circa 2011.

The Friend Who Is Only There When You’re Crying

Some friends might be there for you in your darkest times, but then there are the friends who may be enjoying your downfall. If this type of friend asks questions or seems interested only when things are going badly, they are low-key haters or, as they say in Los Angeles, low-vibrational individuals. They love to be negative, and they love to see you when you’re not doing well. They are either feeding into whatever bad drama you’re going through or being cynical about other people. They are energy vampires who don’t actually want to help you out of a bad place but are instead enjoying that you are feeling as bad about yourself as they are. You start to wonder if they are rooting for you to fail.

Obviously it’s nice to talk to someone when you’re feeling down but keep an eye out for the people who only start sniffing around when something bad happens. Get out! If you surround yourself with optimistic people who have positive conversations, you will find yourself living a lighter life. The conversations you have with your friends shape your reality, and you don’t want your reality to feel like a wet rag.