Reddit user u/pimpyocean posed a compelling question: “People who left their partner the day of the wedding, what happened?” The responses were both numerous and emotionally charged.
While many recounted stories they had witnessed, several Redditors shared firsthand experiences of walking away on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives.
From uncovering cheating to coming to the difficult conclusion that their partner simply wasn’t the right person, each story offered a unique perspective.
Check out the most fascinating and heartbreaking stories below.
1. New day, new bride
“My brother went to this engagement party, everything was great, nothing out of the ordinary. The wedding comes around three months later, he shows up… and it’s a totally different bride. Same groom, same date, same invite, just… new bride. No explanation.” —u/zzibhai
2. Mail-order bride
“My wife’s family has a story from the early 1900s, in which a bride and groom had courted mostly by mail. On the day of the wedding, the bride got cold feet. The family was trying to figure out what to do when the bride’s sister piped up and said, “I’ll marry him”.
The groom thought about it for a few minutes and decided he was in. The wedding proceeded as if nothing had happened, and they allegedly were married 50+ years and produced a big, happy family.” —u/jasfad
3. The non-wedding party
“We called it the ‘non-wedding.’ It was a very small backyard do, and when we showed up, a relative of the groom ushered us out back and whispered that the wedding was off, but they had all this food and to help ourselves.
Apparently, just that morning, the groom found out that the bride had banged the stripper at her bachelorette party, but his family said they’d already spent all the money on the party, so they’d just tell people when they arrived.
It was one of the most awkward experiences of my life because the groom just sat dejectedly in a chair while people tried to cheer him up. We ate a little out of obligation and then got the hell out of there.” —u/Empkat
4. Best friend betrayal
“Not me, but my best friend. I was set to be his best man at his wedding. While I was organizing his bachelor party, I reached out to some of our old friends to invite them. One of them, who showed up, we hadn’t really seen in like ten years, and asked who he was getting married to, and I told him.
And he was just silent for a minute and said, ‘Bro, I literally just hooked up with her a couple of weeks ago.’ I thought it was a joke, but he sent me a pic.
Hardest f*cking conversation I have ever had to have. And it was only like 12 hours to the wedding.” —u/Guardian-Boy
5. An expensive lesson
“We dated 4 years, were 2 weeks away from closing on a custom house together, and a month from getting married. We’d been in counseling the entire time we were together for his childhood trauma and intimacy issues, and I just finally realized in one of those sessions that this was never going to change.
I thought I could hang, but he wouldn’t have sex with me, tell me i was beautiful, or invest in my life (I authored a book for a college course i wrote and he didn’t even know what it was about, though i wrote it while we were together; as just one example). Anyway, it was one of the two best decisions I’ve made in my 34-year life so far to walk away from him and the house. It cost me $23,000 and it was worth every penny.
TL;DR: I walked away pretty last minute and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.” —u/zaurahawk
6. Caught cheating
“This happened to a friend. He found out she was cheating on him, and still was on the morning of the wedding…That’s when he found them together in a separate room for the wedding party.” —u/PollutionOld9327
7. Killer Grandma
“I don’t know if this counts, but my Grandma killed her first husband on their wedding day. She was 15, it was arranged, and divorce wasn’t an option, so she was like ‘alright, murder it is.’” —u/Necessary-Corgi4522
8. Wrong time, right person
“My sister in law called off her wedding…because she was going through a deep depression. It was so tough, but her fiancé understood that it wasn’t because she didn’t want to marry him; it was that she couldn’t find any joy in life at that stage, and it was the wrong time to get married. They’re still together and have two kids now and are very content with life.” —u/-WhyIs-
9. Signs from above
“A friend of mine very much believes in signs from Heaven. She went to church a week or so before the wedding to pray for a good, strong marriage. As she was praying, the church got darker because a cloud passed over the sun, so less light came through the windows.
She saw it as a sign and called off the wedding and cut off the guy after telling him it was over. Everyone on her side was supportive of her choice, but laughed at the reason. Within a year, it came out that he was hiding a gambling addiction and loads of debt. He forged her name on some fake loan contracts, saying she owed him, and tried to collect from her family, saying her debt is their debt, after she would not give him the time of day.” —u/Life_Park
10. Nightmare mother-in-law
“My friend did this like 20-some years ago. She was engaged to a guy from a very well-off family. The wedding was in California, but they were living in Seattle. Very posh, very expensive. But the MIL was always a b*tch to her.
Right at the beginning of the reception, the MIL came up and said some nasty things to her in a whisper, thinking she would just take it again.
She lost it, families got involved, and she ended up on a plane back to the PNW that night. Her family had already started moving her things out of the apartment that evening. Never spoke to him again.” —u/snail_juice_plz
11. Wedding-turned-BBQ
“My cousin’s backyard shotgun wedding. She changed her mind because they got in a fight that morning. My uncle still made BBQ, and it just turned into a typical family hangout.
They got married the next weekend anyway. Not a very exciting story. They are still married like 22 years and three kids later though, so that’s something.” —u/Suitable_cataclysm
Bonus: Someone who wished they had left
“I should have left, but didn’t. He chose not to spend our wedding night with me as he cared more about doing drugs with his friends and staying out until 5 am. I was two years sober at the time, so I went to bed sober and alone, not even knowing where my now husband was.
I thought in the moment he just wanted to be social with people he hadn’t seen in a while, but a couple of years later, I’ve learned I was just never a priority to him. Divorce is hopefully being finalized soon!” —u/tootiesbewwy
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