Wedding Goers Reveal The Trashiest Things They've Seen During The Nuptials

What's the trashiest thing you've seen happen at a wedding?
[rebelmouse-image 18361931 is_animated_gif=Weddings; those special occasions in which two become one and families merge. Magical. Beautiful. Disastrous? Alcohol + uninvited guests crashing it + illicit relationships, all come to a head in these horrible, but hilarious, wedding catastrophes.
AquaNetwerk asked, What's the trashiest thing you've seen happen at a wedding?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
It's like a real-life Buster Bluth.
[rebelmouse-image 18361932 is_animated_gif=The groom's family did not like the bride. This was because after the couple met, the groom (aged 32) started to finally have a life and make his own decisions. Before that, the groom's parents were his entire life as he worked with his dad and still lived at home. Grooms mom also did all of his banking so the guy didn't even know how much money he had in his account (yeah the groom was a very sheltered child who turned in a very lonely, slightly weird adult who'd only had one short-term girlfriend before he met the bride).
Even though groom's family did not want this wedding to happen, they came to the wedding. The groom's mom, dad, and sister then proceeded to ignore the bride the entire time. When they were doing family pictures, grooms family refused to stand next to the bride. When the bride walked into the church, they refused to stand and looked straight ahead of her entire walk up the aisle. They proceeded to have a "whispered" conversation as the bride was saying her vows. At the reception, groom's sister tried (my fellow bridesmaids and I stopped her) to walk into the dance floor with her dad during the brides dance with her father.
They were relentless in their attempts to make sure every one of the 150 guests knew they did not like the bride. The poor bride was an emotional wreck about to have a break down by the time dinner was served. The groom was so angry that you could practically see the smoke coming out his ears. It all came to an end when the groom punched his dad in the face at the end of dinner when the dad insinuated that the bride looked like she belonged at the strip club in her (not very slutty v neck dress with a low back) dress.
His family is utter trash and the groom hasn't spoken a word to his parents in 3 years.
Really? In front of everyone's salads?
[rebelmouse-image 18345594 is_animated_gif=You know how the groom gets the garter off the bride? Now imagine being in a room with family, friends, and coworkers and watching the bride give the groom a lap dance while he removes the garter with his teeth while that romantic ballad, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" blasts from the speakers.
That was probably not a good way for her to tell her parents that she put herself through college working at a strip club. Or for him to tell his parents he met the bride at the strip club.
(And everyone complained when they wanted a child-free wedding).
When your own family crashes your wedding...
[rebelmouse-image 18361933 is_animated_gif=My ex-father in law. He remarried a woman who was much younger than him. Fancy wedding, went all out on the location and the decorations and his new bride's wedding dress. He spent a ton of money and it was beautiful.
Several members of his side of the family showed up in jeans, not nice jeans, torn, dirty, frayed jeans, and tee shirts. His own sister showed up in a tank top and jean cut off shorts. And she forgot to bring her teeth. Half of the wedding guests seriously looked like they were part of a white trash carnival.
They pretty much all got drunk and terrorized this beautiful expensive venue.
It was an amazing wedding. I had a blast.
Pants are overrated and for the weak.
[rebelmouse-image 18361934 is_animated_gif=A girl was pretty trashed right off the bat at the reception, and she projectile vomited all over her table. It was known as the puke table for the rest of the night. At the same wedding, a guy kept cutting his dress pants shorter and shorter throughout the evening until they were daisy dukes. He was rad. I also remembered my dancing partner did the splits (while going commando), and there was a huge rip in his pants. His testes were hanging out the rest of the evening. Dear god that was a fun wedding.
This is a WEDDING, not a party, y'all. How dare you be merry?
[rebelmouse-image 18361936 is_animated_gif=Brother of the groom grabbed the mic while he was drunk and announcing to the guests that they needed "To shut up and sit down because it's [Bride] and [Groom's] big day and y'all are ruining it by talking and dancing." Naturally, this was after dinner and when the band was playing so everyone could dance.
It might be YOUR wedding but they're MY kids.
[rebelmouse-image 18361937 is_animated_gif=No kids wedding.
Strangers to me brought their kids.
The kids were alright, but f_ck the parents, y'know?
I overheard someone talk to the mom and she had a really entitled "I do what I want" attitude.
My son is going to cheat on you but it's ok, you have me. Nice networking, mom.
[rebelmouse-image 18346335 is_animated_gif=My sister's wedding....the groom's mom performed the ceremony, decked out in a crazy black dress with a slit just about up to her lady bits, rocking some serious fishnet stockings. She gave a long "sermon" about marriage, and the whole thing was batsh_t crazy. The best part of it was when she was talking about cheating in a marriage, and how the bride should handle it. She essentially said her son would cheat, but don't worry, because "I've got your back." She was talking about how she'd yell at her son, and that my sister could be mad, but should ultimately forgive him.
Once the ceremony was over, she stepped in front of the newly married couple, spread her arms wide for her adoring crowd, and walked in front of my sister and her husband as they left the ceremony. Photographer couldn't even get a decent picture because the groom's mom was blocking them.
Then, this crazy woman changed into a white dress for the reception and kept yelling, "that's my baby boy" over and over as we all watched a picture video of the couple. So glad we had a few drinks before the wedding.
When your masculinity is so fragile you get angry when other men exist.
[rebelmouse-image 18361938 is_animated_gif=A bridesmaid's boyfriend yelled at her and stormed out of the wedding because she walked in during the grand introduction with another man.
My wedding, my rules, peasants.
[rebelmouse-image 18361939 is_animated_gif=The bride MC'd her own wedding. She made a huge deal over the mic before everyone had a chance to fill their first plate of food that people needed to sit down immediately and that speeches were starting RIGHT NOW and if some people didn't have food yet they could get to it after speeches were done.
She then sat there as the bridal party and her parents spoke, but during her new father-in-law's speech she stood up, walked across the room, and started filling a second plate of food for herself while he was still talking.
Well, that escalated quickly.
[rebelmouse-image 18361940 is_animated_gif=Wife was part of the wedding party and the happy couple wanted wedding pics with the maids making out with the groomsmen, then all of them topless, and so on, the list just got worse... none of them knew each other; there was no warning; just crazy expectation their friends would do anything they asked for their big day.
My wife (girlfriend then) was so upset she walked out crying, so we went home.
When you feel the need to translate a speech into drunk, and your teeth get in the way. Lordy.
[rebelmouse-image 18361942 is_animated_gif=Was at the wedding of a friend. The couple was interracial. The wedding is a lovely combination of traditions from both sides. Bride and groom had decided NOT to have speeches as there were a couple people on both sides who weren't particularly pleased with them getting married.
So reception begins, alcohol flows and eventually intermingling occurs between the families. Then her Great- Uncle, whom she had been very close to all her life, manages to convince the DJ to let him make a quick little speech. The speech is this lovely little prattling thing about how wonderful the bride is and how Great-Uncle had always felt she was the daughter he never had and if she had to marry someone at least it was a man who had already proven he could take care of her etc.
Everyone is tearing up.
Then the Queen of Angamar stands up, takes the mic from her husband and says "I'll now translate for the groom's family". Then she TAKES HER TEETH OUT and begins grunting like an animal.
She was quickly dragged out of the building but it pretty much killed the mood for the rest of the party.
One of those, "wait, why are they getting married?" type situations...
[rebelmouse-image 18361943 is_animated_gif=I was a bridesmaid in a wedding many years ago.
During the talk about love, honor, and commitment from the celebrant, the father of the bride leaned into the bridesmaids and said something like "wait, they're talking about my daughter, right? Does she even know what those words mean?" The only photo I kept from that day was of the bunch of us trying not to laugh.
Same wedding, but during the reception portion of it, there was a fight because someone made a disparaging remark about the bride being ... well, "free with her sexual favors" to put it nicely. The groom stood up for her and it turned into a fistfight. Turns out she'd never had sex with HIM (which might explain why they married 4 months after meeting), but she HAD had sex with ALL of his groomsmen. During the ~2 months between getting engaged and getting married.
The wedding ended with her drunk & puking on my shoes, the groom went to the honeymoon suite hotel room they'd booked with the sister of one of the groomsmen and a quick, quiet annulment a few weeks later.
No wonder they weren't invited...
[rebelmouse-image 18361944 is_animated_gif=It was my wedding. A bunch of my family that I didn't invite because I've spent a total of maybe 4 hours with them in my entire life were suddenly very offended I didn't invite them to the wedding. They showed up anyway. They "just happened to be in the area" and thought they'd pop in on my big day to congratulate me. Funny how the one time in the entirety of my 29 years on earth these people decide to drop in is the day they know there's a bunch free food and booze to be had at the after party. They were just praying I'll let them stay despite me barely knowing them and being dressed in tattered band t-shirts and filthy torn up jeans. I let them visit with the few members of their family who were invited for an hour or so then told them to leave just before the ceremony started. They did.
I would 100% bring my cat to a wedding.
[rebelmouse-image 18361946 is_animated_gif=My meth-head uncle brought a baby goat to my reception, because he, and I quote, "is the best goat mom ever". The goat died the next day.
Hey, nothing wrong with being comfortable at your own wedding.
[rebelmouse-image 18361947 is_animated_gif=A guy I know showed up to his own wedding in a Hawaiian shirt. Granted, from what I know of him, that may have been the fanciest thing he owned.
I know what this wedding needs! A biker rally.
[rebelmouse-image 18361948 is_animated_gif=I was there to film it. The wedding was taking place in the backyard of the father of the bride's house. I show up and the father is in a wife beater and holding a beer and joking with everyone who arrives that he guess he should get ready. This was just the beginning.
Apparently, he also had an annual event at his house every year called Crapperfest. Since his daughter was getting married why not just combine the two and save some money? Crapperfest even had their own shirts with a big outhouse as their logo.
It had rained the night before and during the ceremony, the brides wedding party had trouble making it up the slight hill as their heels kept sinking into the dirt.
About five minutes into the ceremony you start to hear motorcycles approaching. In the distance at first and then completely overpowering. You couldn't hear anything being said anymore. It sounded like there was a large group of motorcycles in the front yard...because there were. They had arrived for Crapperfest and were waiting for the wedding to end so they could party.
This was the first wedding I ever filmed...I don't film weddings anymore.
Trashy? Or living in the moment?
[rebelmouse-image 18361949 is_animated_gif=We were driving from the wedding site to reception. My friend had a sign that said "Show Us Your Boobs" that he kept him his car. He started waving it and one of the aunts of the bride.... showed us her boobs.
Proposing at someone else's wedding is very, very shady.
[rebelmouse-image 18361950 is_animated_gif=Someone proposed during the wedding of someone I knew. A friend of a friend, but when I was told that one I was just amazed. I mean, that's not your day. I get you want to join in with the wedding stuff and excitement, but that day is about the bride and groom! Edit: I should add that the person proposing did not have permission from bride and groom and they were really really angry since the wedding turned into an engagement party practically because the new fiances made it all about themselves.
Also with the ones I've been to, I think the best to go with this theme was when the bride's parents got trashed and started screaming at each other.
And the trashiest award goes to... threesome in a church. Trashy? Totally. Inspiring? Regrettably.
[rebelmouse-image 18361951 is_animated_gif=Well, I didn't exist yet, but at my parents wedding my mom walked into some distant family friends and some of my dad's friends (don't know exactly who, I'd rather not ask lol) having a threesome somewhere in the church hall they had rented out (bathroom maybe?) They were all married.
The human body is truly amazing. It's resilient, it can create antibodies to fight off infections, and it comes in all shapes and sizes.
There are some awesome facts about the human body, like that no two people have the same fingerprints.
However, there are also some creepy facts about the human body.
Redditors are well aware of this and are ready to share the creepiest facts they know about the human body.
It all started when Redditor MorBot07 asked:
"What creepy fact about the human body do you know?"
I Need To Go Take A Nap
"Too much lack of sleep can cause the brain to "eat itself", cutting connections and making things like alzheimer more probable in later life."
– 89_degree_angle
"nothing has been able to convince me to start sleeping more but i think this comment really did it for me.."
– r0saliaa
Can't Move
"If your spinal cord loses adequate blood supply for a short period of time, you can be temporarily paralyzed."
"The first sign that your spine is "waking up" again is that you regain a specific reflex, where if you squeeze that person's penis or clitoris, their anus contracts. If that happens, it's a good sign."
– AceAites
Just The Right Spot
"A single punch to the chest can stop your heart. A single punch to the gut can rupture your spleen and kill you. A single punch to the face or back of the head can kill you. (the back of the head being less sudden and more noticeable)..."
"Let it be known that, despite all the things we can endure, humans are insanely fragile in many ways you may not even have thought of."
– wolfyfancylads
The Other Side Of Me
"Some people’s organs are on the wrong side of their body, like a mirror image… It’s called Situs Inversus"
– smallCraftAdvisor
"This is true! I actually have this. Partial Situs Inversus. Dextrocardia. It doesn’t harm me just means my heart in on the wrong side so the opposite lung is smaller. Can cause issues when I’m sick but nothing more."
– FlamingArrowheads
My Choice
"There are pregnancy cancers. You can have little baby cell metastases growing in your brain if you decide to have a baby and some of cell multiplier genes go wrong."
– zeratul196
"Add that to the list of why I need bodily autonomy. 😬"
– chubbycat96
Time For A Reboot
"A seizure, despite how terrifying they may be, are your brain's response to the brain equivalent of a runtime error. Something happened that shouldn't have, and your brain is restarting to get everything running smoothly again."
"Source: epileptic since 2003"
– authorStanCrane
Ick!
"When we die, it looks like your fingernails are still growing, but it’s actually just the skin around your fingers shrinking."
– Comfortable-Pin-5769
A Body Is An Ecosystem
"Your body contains just as many foreign cells, i.e. gut bacteria, as your own body cells. These cells produce hundreds of neurochemicals that the brain uses to regulate basic physiological processes as well as mental processes such as learning, memory and mood. Some believe this is the "gut feeling" people sometimes get in certain situations."
– chaoschosen665
Genetics
"I’m currently pregnant with a girl. I’m currently holding the cells that could become my grandchild."
– dreamqueen9103
"Samesies. Every person in existence was once half inside their biological maternal grandmother."
– Magnaflorius
Counterproductive
"I don’t know if it qualifies as creepy.. I’m a nurse, and I’ve always found it interesting how the body attempts to compensate when sick which incidentally tends to lead to you becoming sicker because of how overworked your body is."
– Chowel98
Different Species, One Body
"An estimated 30 trillion cells in your body—less than a third—are human. The other 70-90% are bacterial and fungal. Ninety-nine percent of the unique genes in your body are bacterial."
– AwiiiLama
Uncomprehensible
"If you have a stroke (or other brain injury) that effects parts of the brain associated with speech, you will probably end up with some type of aphasia."
"For example, my “favorite” type of aphasia is Wernicke’s Aphasia; patients can form whole words and even sentences, but they usually make no sense. I had a patient with Wernicke’s Aphasia who would constantly say something close to “we have to rescue the dog(s) from the DMV!” It took me about 30 mins to figure out this person wanted something to drink."
– YayAdamYay
A Whole New Person
"I heard or read once that essentially every 7 years your body has completely regenerated. Of course it's a slow on going process but 7 years from now no cell that's currently in your body will still be there."
– randomradomski
No Changes
"Eyes are the only part of the body that don't grow. Same size when you die as when you were born."
– lookatmypackage
We Are Strong
"You could easily bite your own fingers or tongue off, but (unless you're seriously mentally ill) your brain prevents you from doing so."
– endorrawitch
They say knowledge is power, but I'm not sure I'm better off for knowing of this!
Until we're in a situation, we'll never really know how we'll react.
I have been in this scenario, though.
Sex matters. And people rarely want to admit how much.
But sex isn't a lifetime guarantee.
It fades, as does love.
It's important to speak about it.
It can be a fixable situation.
A relationship without sex may not be the end of the world, but it's definitely a sign that something is off.
Redditor Deviant55 wanted to talk about physical intimacy in relationships, so they asked:
"How important is sex to you in a relationship? Could you be with someone you love even if sex was off the table indefinitely?"
I learned how much sex matters in my last relationship.
Once I wasn't interested, it kind of killed everything.
Forever
"When my wife of 30+ years became too ill for sex to be even remotely interesting for her, I certainly did not end the relationship. I loved her and I took care of her until she died. No other course even occurred to me."
fvillion
Frustration
"When I met my wife we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. This lasted a few years. I was in my mid-twenties when we married. She developed a chronic medical issue. I’ve gone twenty years being sexually frustrated. There are stages and phases to this."
"What I came to realize is that I love my wife. Yes, sex is important in our relationship. But I would rather have her in my life with no sex than have sex without her."
"The thing is, I love her. She can’t help her situation. I can’t help it. One deals with it. Marriage is more than sex. It is building a life and memories, raising a family, and loving each other regardless of the challenges life throws our way. But sex is very important. It helps keep the closeness and the emotional bond. But it isn’t the only thing that does that."
QuietusNoctis
I Love Her
"It is complicated. I am in a near-sexless marriage. The wife needs antidepressants to function. And it kills her libido. So usually it is four to six times a year. My libido rages. And yeah, it sucks. I dream of more sex."
"But I love the chick. She loves me to the moon and back. I’m not willing to sacrifice her love so I can try dating again. Divorce rates these days? And I found a woman who more than tolerates me, she loves me. I’ll stay. And not to be crude but yeah I masturbate. A lot. She doesn’t begrudge me that. Occasionally she even encourages it."
"She went off her meds for a while. And man did we do it. But she was a mess. I need her healthy more than I need a shag. We travel together. We enjoy each other’s company. We actually like each other. I could claim that it is hell, but I choose to see all of the good I am blessed with."
painthawg_goose
Heartless
"Quite important. But I think it depends on where you are in the relationship. I've been married for 10 years. I have kids. If my wife suddenly couldn't have sex with me for some reason -- illness or injury or something -- I'm not divorcing her over it. That's heartless."
"Now, if she just decided we weren't ever having sex again because she didn't feel like it, that'd be different. Or if I was just starting to date someone and they told me they'd never have sex, I probably just wouldn't keep pursuing the relationship. Plenty of people out there who will."
Arkhangelzk
Necessity
"It depends on the circumstances. I LOVE doing it with my man but I love his heart and soul more. If we had to stop having sex for medical reasons or something I’d definitely stay with him and stay faithful. If I was single, I think it’s unlikely I’d start a new relationship knowing it would be sex free."
Fit_Technology8240
Heart and soul is just as necessary and hot and sweaty.
At least a lot of people recognize that.
Percentages
"Sex life is 10% of a relationship when it’s good and 90% of a relationship when it’s bad."
jakovichontwitch
"The other way I've heard it put is that sex is like the bathroom in your house. It's not the only reason you bought the house, but if it's not working it's a big problem."
molten_dragon
Age Related
"50-year-old here married for 27 years. It’s not important. It was important when we were younger but honestly, if sex wasn’t possible I would still love my wife and really nothing about our day would really change."
Kantforall
"I’ve been reading these comments and wishing that everyone’s age was flared on their post because I sense that there are a lot of under-60-year-olds. I am older than my wife but she is starting menopause and I can see the writing on the wall. Not super thrilled but I love her completely and understand. The real intimacy is in how we still (and will always) want to sleep touching each other and waking up next to each other."
caffeinated-hijinx
Kiss Me
"I honestly considered this before. I absolutely adored this guy. It was like a child relationship; we'd kiss and cuddle and hold hands and things, but he wouldn't have sex with me, nor would he commit properly. Any time we came close to sex, he'd go soft or back off."
"I couldn't understand it, wondered if I could keep doing that. My sex drive was wild. Why kiss and the rest but not sex?"
"Then one day he told me he was in love with me and asked me out properly. I said yes there and then, had a wonderful day with him, but when I went home, I was left questioning if I could possibly live without sex. I decided that yeah, I loved him but it would be tough."
"We had sex the next day. So yes, I think I probably could."
Adventurous_Train_48
Touchy/affectionate...
"It's very important. I'm a very affectionate and physical person and touch/caresses and anything physical is one of my love languages. I couldn't function with someone who is the opposite of me or who's uncomfortable with how I am. I already was in a relationship with someone who wasn't that touchy/affectionate and it created frustration for both of us."
Borboleta77
Don't Look at Me
"I am in a sexless relationship. He has erectile dysfunction and I really don't like sex in general. I'm really uncomfortable naked or even vulnerable. I'm shy around him despite the relationship being 10 years nearly, I'm even shy around my family and friends. Everything about sex makes me feel so embarrassed, and I feel nothing but negative feelings when I used to be sexually active. Not through choice of partner, I just hate that sort of attention."
NucularOrchid
Definitive!
"10/10. Sexual incompatibility is a deal breaker!"
oeeiae
Sex is important but not everything.
Until it is everything if it becomes an issue.
Good luck couples. Open and honest communication is key.
An important contributor to our overall health and happiness is the quality of our friendships.
We may not have a lot of friends, but the more important factor is the depth of those relationships.
But we've all had one of those friends who turned out not to be a very good friend at all.
Redditor Both-Support-7110 asked:
"When did you realize your 'friends' were just a**holes?"
Putting Them Down
"After I realized that other people don't s**t on each other on every possible occasion in their circle."
"And that it isn't right when a 'friend' uses every known insecurity as an argument against you when you do not behave the way he/she would want you to."
- fobopi9445
"I luckily made a couple of friends that would just be supportive about stuff. So I slowly started talking to them more than my older friends as I saw the disparity between their responses."
"One side purely would be purely judgmental and try and bring me down, and the other would just be excited for me or be there to listen or whatever. Who wants to talk to the former when you have the latter?"
- Universeintheflesh
Using Them as a Convenience
"They only bothered with me when it suited them. I'd rather have nobody than have to deal with that."
- fobopi9445
Trying to Keep Them Small
"When they were nice at first but then cut me out of conversations, telling me not to 'butt in.' A friend doesn't dictate when you're allowed to speak."
- leatherwolf89
"Total a**hole move to have conversations in front of you only to tell you it doesn’t concern you and mean it. . . Like making plans and giving details about how someone like you could be included but specifically telling you not to invite yourself; making plans in front of someone and not inviting them is awful."
- dearlysacredherosoul
Using Them as Entertainment
"She got a boyfriend and would let him listen to our phone calls and not tell me, even if I was crying about personal stuff that I would only ever tell her."
"Then they both started lying to me about my crush liking me back, forcing both him and me into awkward positions (telling everyone we liked each other so they'd play along, swapping places constantly to make us sit next to each other, pressuring him into giving me a lap dance, making him kiss the prettiest girl in the room, etc), and encouraged me to shoot my shot more and more."
"All the while they knew he didn't like me, he had told them both directly. One night, I was crying on the phone because I was so confused why my advances weren't working, and they just kept explaining it away, blaming some other bulls**t reason and telling me to try again."
"The next day, they told me they were laughing throughout the whole call because I didn't get it and I was so upset. I should add I had no dating experience at all and nobody had ever liked me at this point."
- vixayib976
Using Them to Feel Superior
"I didn't have many friends in grade school, but the times the kids actually gave me the time of day, it was to make me 'it' when we'd play tag. That's what I was there for. To continuously be 'it' so they could run away and feel superior. Because they knew I would agree to it no matter what."
- lunayoshi
Having Questionable Morals
"I had a friend that was a very promiscuous girl, I had no issue with that, until I found out she was using me and my innocent personality then, to distract her mom and make her think she was like me."
"Then she used my house as a literal hotel once, with my family here and everything... I knew that was it."
- luffve
Making Fun of Them
"When I made new friends and realized that it's not normal for friends to constantly beat on me and make fun of me."
- vatonef494
Prioritizing Money Over Them
"When they stopped being my friends after I went through a rough financial patch."
- fobopi9445
Becoming Flaky
"I had a group that I was in from 2019-2021. They became a**holes over time, and it took me longer to see that. It was when I failed my psych 101 class (I'm not the best with online classes and tried the best I could) and when they heard about that, they laughed to my face, called me stupid and a failure."
"Early 2022, I met up with them again thinking it would just be a 'listen to this concert for someone we all know and go on our ways' thing."
"My one closer friend offered to drive me and I accepted, and then afterward she joined the group, made eye contact after the concert was done and said, 'bye,' and left with them to the doors. They doubled back and said, 'You can come with us to another town to a friend's place or I can get my mom to drive you home.'"
"I was so overwhelmed and embarrassed that I just went with them to the other town. I called my brother to come to pick me up after an hour, and when he was on his way out, everyone else left. Haven't been into contact with them again after that."
- shortedgyasain
Disappearing When It Counts
"They pretty much abandoned me in a time of pretty intense need. It solidified my decision to leave the area and go do something worthwhile."
- verisimilitu
No Reciprocation Allowed
"When he does s**t to me and acts like it’s no big deal, but then I do the same back, and he gets offended."
- vatonef494
Excluding Them From Plans
"I've got two examples here. One from childhood and one from adulthood. Pick your favorite."
"Childhood: Kid I knew when I was 8 or so. We used to hang out a lot of the time and often played together, doing the usual kid stuff. Then one day, he has to move away because of a change in his parent's financial situation and I was pretty bummed out about it."
"On the last day we were supposed to see each other, he hung out with someone else instead and when tried to join them, he physically shoved me away and told me I wasn't welcome. That one stung."
"Adulthood: When they keep telling me about plans they made and things they did together or wanted to do together, but never bother to invite or include me in any of it. There's one of them I get along with and he'll invite me to things as long as it's just with him, but when he's with the group, he excludes me."
"I remember one example in particular where they were discussing a new site to do some photography and they fell short a man. One of them looks at me like I'm the spare tire in his car and goes: 'I guess you can come with us this one time.', to which another replies: 'Nah, he doesn't want to go. He doesn't like photography.'"
"I told him I was perfectly capable of answering for myself and didn't need him to act as my answering machine, but it lost a lot of impact because he was right. I don't like photography and didn't want to go. I just didn't like being talked about that way."
"Good luck making that clear to them, though. All they heard was: 'If he was right anyway, then why are you b*tching about it?'"
"I no longer hang out with them. I eventually got sick of being treated like the spare guy they can use in case none of the 'main crew' was attending, so I dropped them."
- Kuliari
Terrible Priorities
"In 2006, my then-best friend wanted to go to a big German metal festival. I did not want to go because my Dad had end-stage cancer."
"Dad died on August 8th, a couple of days after my friend returned from the festival. I called him because I needed someone to talk to."
"He very bluntly stated that he had no interest in my Dad's passing but wanted to tell me how great the festival was."
"You can't imagine how disappointed I was. For years, I'd been there for him whenever he got dumped, and the one time I needed a friend, he wasn't there for me. I told him to shut my door from the outside and lose my number."
- fobopi9445
Undesirable Behaviors
"I was 15, we were hanging out in the alleyway behind my friend’s house as we did almost every day after school."
"One girl was there from the year above us and they started prank calling the child protective services emergency line, pretending to be a child in distress, and they all laughed."
"After a few rounds of this, I felt queasy and left. Never hung out with them again. I still feel bad for not saying something or putting a stop to it, but the girl was older and 'cool.'"
- Brasscogs
Taking Advantage of Them
"I've been posting on him recently, he was my former neighbor and friend. We didn't immediately hit it off but after a while, we became good friends."
"I tried helping him out (he's an unemployed single dad of two special needs kids). He eventually saw my kindness as something to take advantage of, so late last fall, he either broke into my house (or enabled someone else to do it for him) and stole money from me."
"When I confronted him about this, he physically attacked me."
"I can't say it doesn't hurt."
- llcucf80
Friendships are incredibly important, but we're unfortunately not meant to be friends with everyone. Some people simply do not turn out to be the friends we thought they were.
We may know that this happens, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.
No one wants to be alone.
But that doesn't mean we should settle when it comes to choosing a romantic partner.
When people rush into things without letting love flourish, it could lead to problems down the line that can inevitably lead to difficult breakups.
Those who've learned this the hard way shared their experiences with love when Redditorlastknownstar asked:
"What common mistakes do people make when choosing a life partner?"
Communication is key.
Discussing Life Issues
"Not discussing big life issues: your preference for having kids, parenting styles, deep religious beliefs, career aspirations, significant traumas…anything that may affect how you make decisions together later on."
– AwkwardFortuneCookie
Outdated Notions
"My parents were like this. Dad grew up in a standard midcentury 'men run the house, women stay in the kitchen' family, but Mom came from a long line of domineering southern matriarchs who had their husbands whipped. Dad was naturally a good cook and Mom hated cooking, but once they got married, Dad insisted she make all the food because that's what wives are supposed to do. No warning, total 180 on their relationship up to that point."
"He's learned his lesson and now happily cooks for my stepmom, but man... That's not something you can just spring on your new spouse overnight!"
– shebbsquids
What About Kids
"Having kids is a really big question that absolutely needs to be communicated. I've also heard that it's a topic that would make the man a big red flag if asked early into the 'relationship' as in first date and/or texts are off limits."
"Wouldnt it be a lot nicer to 'speed date' these big topics early on?"
– Leaping_Turtle
These Redditors realized ignorance of financial responsibility in a relationship came at a cost.
Finances
"Finance is the number 1 leading cause of divorce."
"Edit: this popped up in my YouTube recommendation (Is your relationship struggling because of finance? - Dave Ramsey https://youtu.be/XuU7oabGqjk). Google is not monitoring us or anything"
– strangemanornot
Spending Habits
"This is such a big issue in relationships. Knowing each other's spending habits is equally important. My ex would be extremely judgmental when it came to my 'fun money', but when he bought a new TV or a new gaming console, he was not to be questioned on it."
– RewardNo3000
You can't change people.
Fixing Their Flaws
"Thinking, 'I know this person has flaws, but when we're married I can help fix them.'"
– DoctorExtra9060
"Ok marriage isn’t working but if we have kids things will change because it will bring us closer."
– Mrepman81
Parasitic Love
"I personally had this issue dating someone who was as sweet as could be, but not the brightest bulb in the socket, and they relied on me for knowledge on everything from health to history to housework. All perfectly googleable or troubleshootable questions, but always defaulted to giving up and asking mommy the girlfriend for help. Admittedly it was kind of an ego boost to have someone always telling me how smart I was and deferring to my judgement on everything, but that's not what a healthy romantic relationship should be like."
"I thought I could nudge them gently into being slightly more self sufficient, but it only got worse as they grew accustomed to relying on me for every little thing. And of course the flip side was I felt like I could never rely on them when I needed help... I knew I was SOL if I couldn't do everything myself, because I was dragging around a parasite instead of a partner."
"Next time I want to spend years working on a fixer-upper, I'm just going to buy a crumbling Victorian house. It'll cause me less stress in the long run."
– shebbsquids
Taking An Emotional Toll
"I was in a similar boat with an ex, wasn't so much her fault as she had a learning disability and epilepsy."
"Every other weekend we also looked after her kids from past relationships, one of which had autism, and due to my ex's condition she wasn't allowed to be on her own with the kids meaning I had to be there as the capable, responsible adult."
"We were together for just shy of 4 years."
"After she broke things off it took a good few months for me to get used to the fact that I could actually let my guard down, switch my brain off and relax. Without needing to constantly worry that someone would need my help or that I needed to ensure her safety."
"She didn't quite realise the toll it was having on me or the amount of responsibility was on my shoulders. She would constantly suggest things like holidays abroad with just us two and the kids, and all I could think was that it would be far from a relaxing holiday for me as I'd have her and two kids to look after and be responsible for the entire time."
– ShadowSurgeGaming
Managing expectations is key.
Never Settle
"Choosing someone they think they should be with instead of someone they're actually compatible with."
"I feel a lot of people have a picture in their head of who they think they'll end up with and chase that ideal, instead of acknowledging their own personality and aiming for someone compatible with that. Easier said than done, but yeah."
– Viminia7 ·
Importance Of Value
"I talk with my partner about this all the time. We think its important to have shared values not shared interests."
"Yes it’s important to share things you both like to do, but just because your partner likes One Punch Man, like you do, doesn’t mean they are on the same page as you with resolving conflicts."
– scsm
Elvis Presley reminded us that only fools rush in, despite his intense romantic feelings towards his object of affection.
But the wise men he was referring to were on to something.
It's best to ease into things and let love grow, and not force relationships without really getting to know the person with whom you plan to devote yourself to.
If it's meant to be, it'll be worth taking things slow by getting to know a prospective significant other's dreams, what makes them, and their values to see if there is enough chemistry to develop meaningful relationships.