Andrew McCarthy breaks down why men in midlife dont have friends

A few years back, Andrew McCarthy was having a conversation with his then 20-year-old son, Sam, who was telling him a funny story about a buddy’s dating life.Then the boy made a comment that struck a nerve.“You don’t really have any friends, do you, Dad?” In the days that followed, McCarthy — who rose to fame in the 1980s as a key member of the Brat Pack, starring in films such as “Pretty in Pink” and “St.

Elmo’s Fire” — couldn’t stop thinking about the “slightly embarrassing” comment.“I kind of felt exposed in a certain way,” the 63-year-old told The Post.“Kids will just say what they perceive to be the truth, and attention must be paid, you know?”He realized that, amidst work and family, he’d let many close friends fall by the wayside and hadn’t modeled relationships well for his son. The conversation led him to reach out to an old friend near Baltimore he hadn’t spoken with in years, rent a car and drive to see the guy.

When McCarthy arrived, he found his once extroverted buddy holed up his apartment, isolated by severe back problems and surrounded by Amazon packages.“[I] just sort of realized instantly, ‘Wow, you’ve really been struggling with something,'” McCarthy said.“If I had been doing my friendly duty, I would have known and he would have felt he could open up to me.”The encounter ended up being just the beginning of a 10,000-mile, 22-state road trip to visit long lost pals and converse with strangers about their own friendships. McCarthy chronicles the journey in his new book, “Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America.” Here, he talks to The Post about the journey.Would your son ever have asked your wife about not having any friends? No, my wife’s the most social person you’ve ever met.

Why do you think this has become such a thing for men in midlife — to not have friends or to not keep in touch with people?Women know the value of friendship, I th...