I see where you're coming from, but my point was just that it's not like the guy was gushing on and on about them from out of the blue...he was put in a defensive position.
Trying to understand others when coming from the outside is very difficult. I have had a falling out with a friend as a group, and then run into the person we had the falling out with, and then slowly gotten to know the person again. Maybe they changed, maybe I did, maybe we just moved past the issue...HOWEVER, it never fails that someone who has not been around this gradual interaction will be all "How can you POSSIBLY be friends with HER? Don't you remember XYZ?" Of course I do, but when it comes down to it, nobody is perfect, and each person's threshhold of what violates their trust enough to overwhelm the good they see in the other is different...and those of us on the outside can be mystified all we want. Would I be the same way in his position? Prolly not, but I still don't see anything fishy about how he feels...and I wasn't there for any of their interaction so I have no idea how he came to his position.