Weddings are supposed to be about the couple getting married. It is their day to celebrate their love, their choices, and the people who helped them get to the altar. But apparently, some parents didn’t get the memo that they are supporting characters in this movie, not the stars. One father on Reddit just decided to pull the ultimate main character move by storming out of his son’s wedding, and his reasoning is so self-centered it actually hurts my brain.
Let’s look at the history here because context is everything. The narrator, a father, has a 27-year-old son named Jordan. Jordan lost his biological mother when he was just 13 years old, which is a trauma that shapes a kid’s entire life. Three years later, when Jordan was 16, his dad introduced “Natalie,” the stepmom.
Now, 16 is a tough age to blend a family. Jordan made it pretty clear he didn’t view Natalie as his mom. He shut down her attempts to get close. In fact, things were so strained that mere months after his dad married Natalie, Jordan moved out of his father’s house and moved in with his aunt. Keep that detail in your pocket, because it is the most important part of this story.
Fast forward a decade. Jordan and his dad have reconciled enough that the dad and Natalie are invited to Jordan’s wedding. Everything is going great. The atmosphere is festive. But then, the moment for the traditional dances arrives. And Jordan, the groom, makes a choice that honors the woman who stepped up when he needed a parent the most.
He chose his aunt for the mother-son dance.
You know, the aunt he lived with. The aunt who took him in when he was a grieving teenager who couldn’t handle his dad’s new marriage. It makes perfect sense. But the dad? He didn’t see a touching tribute. He saw a slight against his wife. When Natalie realized she wasn’t getting the dance, she told her husband, and instead of comforting her or telling her to get a grip, he decided to punish his son. He got up and walked out.
The dad left his own child’s wedding because his feelings were hurt on behalf of a woman his son barely tolerates. Later, when Jordan called to ask why his father had abandoned him on the biggest day of his life, the dad doubled down. He told his son that choosing the aunt was “malicious” and that he had hurt Natalie’s feelings for no reason.
Jordan tried to explain the obvious. His aunt is basically a mother to him. She is the one who housed him and raised him during his formative years. Natalie, on the other hand, is his father’s wife. There is a difference. The dad, however, argued that it wasn’t about who raised him, but about “tradition.”
I am sorry, but tradition went out the window when the biological mother passed away. The “mother-son” dance is about the maternal figure in your life. For Jordan, that is clearly his aunt. Expecting him to shove his actual mother figure aside to perform a pageant wave with a stepmom he moved out to avoid is wildly entitled.
The dad accused his son of “ruining his day” and “causing a scene.” Sir, the only person causing a scene was the man who marched out of the reception hall in a huff. You didn’t ruin his day, but you certainly tried your hardest to make it about you.
Now the rest of the family has sided with Jordan, telling the dad he shouldn’t have left. And they are 100 percent right. You suck it up. You sit there, you smile, you eat the cake, and you let your son have his moment with the woman he loves and respects.
So, is he the ahole? Yes. A massive one. He prioritized his wife’s ego over his son’s heart on his wedding day. He showed Jordan, once again, that his feelings and his reality don’t matter as much as Daddy’s new life. He chose Natalie over Jordan when the kid was 16, and he just did it again at 27.