Asking for a friend: My toxic ex-girlfriend has spread awful lies about me after our break-up and now friends have become distant. It feels so unfair as I did nothing wrong

Q: I had a really bad break-up with my girlfriend recently. She became really toxic and did some horrible things that I can’t go into yet, but I was really hurt. We are part of the local LGBTQ+ community and it’s really small. She’s told people awful things that aren’t true and it seems like people blame me and don’t want to talk to me. My friends have been distant, and I feel so lonely. It feels like I have lost everything, while she was the one who treated me badly. It feels pointless trying to correct people when it seems they already have their mind made up. I feel really alone and I don’t want to go out anymore. I don’t know how to manage this and I feel so stressed out. I want to confront them and tell them the truth, but I don’t know if they would even listen to me. It’s not fair and it’s not true what she’s been saying. I feel shocked that she has done this as I didn’t treat her badly. I thought these people were my friends, but I feel like I can’t trust any of them now. How am I meant to pick myself back up?