What To Do When Someone Betrays You

HollywoodRelationshipsBusiness
Written By Axel Axe

Axel Axe is a writer-director known for his emotional films and sharp business execution. He host a podcast where he explores all aspects of the human experience, Set in Hollywood, California

Failure is often just the tuition we pay to learn how to navigate life. It happens in business, in partnerships, and in creative projects. But when that failure is driven by someone you trusted going out of their way to screw you over, the sting hits completely differently.

When you invest your time, money, and creative energy into helping someone else—only for them to take the credit, ghost you, or steal the work—your natural human reaction is pure rage. You want revenge. You want to call your lawyers, burn the bridge to ashes, and close yourself off to everyone else.

I’ve been betrayed in business twice on major projects. People I considered close friends took my work, took the benefits, ghosted me, and kept money they owed me.

Here is my unvarnished breakdown on how to handle betrayal, why revenge is a massive trap, and how to protect your character without letting bad people ruin your heart.

“Failure is just the tuition that we have to pay to learn how to get through life... but just don’t let that element of having someone who did you wrong ruin your heart and the things that you want to do.”
— Axel "Axe" Arzola | Actor & Director

2. Erase Them Completely (Why "Keep Enemies Close" is Nonsense)

Some people preach the old saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." I completely disagree.

I don't keep enemies close, and I don't waste time plotting revenge. For me—maybe it's my Scorpio nature or my Type-A personality—the absolute cold response someone can receive from me is total erasure.

  • No Revenge Plotting: Thinking about revenge might feel nice in the moment, but it costs you precious mental bandwidth.

  • Complete Removal: I completely remove them from my circle, my thoughts, and my future moving forward. They simply cease to exist in my reality.

When you cut a toxic person off completely, you win immediately because you are moving forward on a trajectory to build something bigger, while they remain stuck in their small, shady games.

Axel Arzola is a director, known for Literary Ink (2020), Done With Mirrors (2020) and The Remembering (2017). Axel grew up in Habana, Cuba.

3. The Attorney's Advice: Don't Spend Your Future Fighting the Past

After one of my biggest business betrayals, I sat down with my attorney and asked, "Can we sue them? Can we go after them?"

He looked at me and said something that permanently shifted my perspective:

"Axel, the time and energy you spend taking them to court is time you could spend building your next project. You are so far ahead. Take that energy and use it to build the next big thing with people who actually care about doing good work.”

He was 100% right. Court battles, legal wars, and endless grudges tie your focus to the past. The moment you re-center yourself and direct that energy into your next venture, you leave the betrayal behind in the dust.

Axel Axe is a Cuban-born American film director, producer, media entrepreneur, and podcast host. He is the founder and CEO of Red Axe Media and hosts The Axel Axe Show

4. They Win the Money, But They Live in a Cage of Snakes

When you get screwed over in business, it's easy to look at the person who betrayed you and think, "Why do they get to do well and make money off my work?"

My wife and I were discussing this exact dynamic, and I told her the truth: They might win financially on the surface, but they lose internally.

  • The Paranoia Trap: If someone uses shady tactics, lies, and betrayal to get ahead, they can never truly trust anyone around them. They spend their entire lives constantly worrying that their team, partners, or friends are plotting the same thing against them.

  • The Value of Honor: Growing up, my dad taught me a fundamental lesson: Be honorable and tell the truth. That matters more than anything else. Who cares if someone has more money if they are a terrible human being?

If you were honorable and got screwed over, you sleep fine at night. The person who screwed you over has to live in a cage surrounded by snakes.

5. Don't Let "Rotten Fruit" Ruin Your Character

The absolute worst thing that can happen after a betrayal is letting their toxicity turn you into a toxic person.

When someone cheats on you in a relationship or screws you over in business, the temptation is to build massive walls, stop trusting anyone, or start treating others with the same cold, cynical bitterness.

Don't let a piece of rotten fruit ruin the rest of your harvest:

  • Protect Your Standards: In relationships, I would always rather break things off directly than go behind someone's back and cheat. Not just for them, but for me. I refuse to become the type of person who operates in the dark.

  • Stay Open to Green Flags: Closing yourself off entirely guarantees that you'll miss out on incredible new business partners, genuine friendships, and real relationships.

Learn the lessons, recognize the red flags earlier next time, and treat the pain as tuition paid for a valuable life lesson. But above all else, never let someone who did you wrong ruin your heart.

🎬 Watch the full solo breakdown on The Axel Axe Show on YouTube for more direct takes on leadership, cinema, and the business of building a production house.

Axel Axe
Next

From Med School Dropout to Sunset Boulevard: Jason Salvatore Cohen on the Reality of Hollywood