For many people, weddings don’t feel complete without our parents there to witness the special day.
However, if your dad gave you an ultimatum, saying he won’t attend the wedding if his wife is not invited, would you let him or would you give in to his request?
This bride‘s answer was simple and straightforward… and his dad didn’t expect it at all.
Read the story for all the details.
AITA for telling my Dad I don’t care if he’s absent at my wedding?
For some backstory, I (24F) have a rough relationship with my dad’s (43M) wife, E (41F).
They got together in 2006, married in 2011, and have had two children since then.
This woman narrates how her stepmom dislikes her.
E has never liked me.
I was introduced to her when I was 7, and things were instantly sour.
She was mean, snarky, and had no interest in me whatsoever.
She adds that her dad has always tolerated her stepmom’s behavior.
Now, as an adult, I can tolerate her behaviour (which has gotten significantly worse, as I’ve grown up and began to talk back).
The issue lies with the fact that my dad has always allowed it.
I’m a grown woman and can handle myself now, as I’ve been doing for years, but when I was a child, he had nothing to say about her borderline abusive behaviour.
He would find ways to change the subject or excuse it whenever it’s brought up.
This has significantly damaged our relationship, and we’re low-contact as of now.
So, at her wedding, she doesn’t plan to invite her.
So, I’m getting married in November this year to J (25M).
We’ve been together for 11 years.
E is insistent that she will be there.
She will not.
I have made this clear since we got engaged in November 2023.
Her dad said that he wouldn’t go if E wasn’t invited.
My dad is invited, but I made it plainly clear last year that she wasn’t welcome as a result of her behaviour, attitude, and treatment of the both of us.
So, my dad met with me last week and told me that if E wasn’t present at my wedding, he wouldn’t be either.
I honestly expected something like this to happen, so I said that it was fine.
She explained what it meant to her when he didn’t attend.
He was confused and asked me to elaborate, so I explained that he didn’t have to attend.
But it meant that I would never speak to him again.
That I had dealt with him choosing E over me for almost 20 years.
And that my wedding (of his first and only daughter) being a subject of debate was the final straw.
As usual, her dad was radio silent.
He said nothing for a moment afterwards, and then got up and left.
E has been blowing up my phone with explicit texts, but it’s been radio silence from my Dad since our chat.
As I said, I’ve dealt with E’s treatment, and by extension, my dad’s silence for almost two decades.
Now, she’s wondering if what she did was wrong.
My wedding feels like a good place to finally end this all, to start over.
I don’t see a way to fix this or our relationship as long as he’s with E.
AITA for telling my Dad I don’t care if he’s present at my wedding?
Let’s find out how other people reacted to this story.
Here’s a short but sensible comment.
Kudos to the daughter, says this one.
This user agrees with her for resetting her priorities.
Here’s a very insightful comment.
Finally, here are some well wishes for the wedding.
When people make ultimatums, they have to be sure they’re ready for an unexpected response.
Kudos to this bride for standing her ground.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.