I don't really know the details, but when a close friend lied to me, I like to weigh the gravity of it. How does the lie affect me and the friend group? Were they backstabbing me/us to others? That would be hard and would need a thorough discussion to assess our friendship. Then I look at how difficult was it for them to tell the truth. If for example it was them dealing depression and anxiety and lying about being ok, then I would be saddened that they didn't ask me for help. If they were cheating on their partner, I can understand why they wouldn't share it with me or the group. Like in a lot of relationships, I think conversation and understanding is important.
There's a lot of different elements at play in situations like this and each has it's own path forward. At the end of the day the most important person for each of us to be honest with is ourselves. You make some good points and I agree.
Becca 🌷