My Wife's Best Friend Had a Meltdown Over Our International Travel Plans

I'm a foreigner married to a Chinese woman for almost 2 years (together for 6). Before meeting me, my wife had never traveled abroad. We've since visited Thailand and Europe together, and she's enjoyed discovering that these places aren't as dangerous as Chinese media often portrays them.

The issue involves my wife's best friend (闺蜜). From the first time I met her, she's been adamant about never traveling abroad, constantly emphasizing how "dangerous" (危险) and "unsafe" (不安全) it is. When we returned from Europe, I playfully teased her about "dodging bullets" abroad. My attempt at sarcasm might have been lost in translation due to my intermediate Chinese.

Things took an unexpected turn last night. My wife was out with her friend at a bar, and when she mentioned our upcoming Thailand trip and invited her to join us, her friend completely lost it. She:

- Started shouting about how naive my wife was

- Claimed Chinese people were getting kidnapped abroad

- Called me later trying to convince me not to take my wife

- Sent dramatic texts to my wife afterward saying things like "I'll go die now. Bye" and "Why would you abandon me?"

Some context about the friend:

- She previously dated a government worker who was very proud of his Communist Party membership

- She consistently tries to convince us to travel within China instead

- Until now, we'd merely written off her attitude as being influenced by Chinese media

I'm trying to understand this behavior. Could it be that, like parents sometimes feel they're "losing" their daughter after marriage, the friend feels she's losing my wife? Or perhaps there's some underlying jealousy?

Has anyone experienced something similar with their Chinese in-laws or friends? I'd appreciate any insights or similar stories.