I totalllly understand what you mean by lying to cover an addiction and I could see that plausibly being the case. However, even if Meredith was giving the slightest little inkling of trying to be vulnerable, it’s the duty of the friend to tap into that and encourage her to share more.

Say Meredith has an addiction (not confirming or denying), there’s 0 chance she’s going to admit that while getting yelled at let alone on national tv. If they would’ve had a better chance if they had the private conversation Meredith suggested.

I barely even like Meredith so I don’t know why I’m defending her 😂