'When the “I do's” came, the groom said, “I guess”': 20+ Newlyweds who were heading right for divorce

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 3, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Here comes the bride… or not! Every couple wants their wedding to go as perfectly as possible: It's supposed to be one of the best days of your whole life. You're surrounded by friends and family who are wishing you all the best as you and your new spouse embark upon a future together. Maybe you'll start a family, adopt a dog, buy a house, or open a business together. You plan to grow old together, and you've gathered your favorite people to celebrate this milestone with you. 

However, planning a wedding is a particular kind of stress that can truly make people go crazy. Brides turn on their friend groups, grooms start snapping at everyone around them, parents and in-laws start bickering… you name it. Don't take my word for it: the people below shared what happened to them at weddings (and some are in the wedding business, too, so their stories are even wilder!). 

Next up, read about what happened when a package courier waited 100 minutes to maliciously comply with a demanding manager's request: "The time stamp was 3:03 so I was definitely not late." 

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  • 01

    "People that work in the wedding industry, have you ever seen a couple and immediately thought 'this ends in divorce'? Why?"

    Twitfried Photographing the groom and you see his eyes light up when a guest arrives. You look over and it's a cute woman in a short dress. He smiles, walks up to the woman, picks her up and swings her in his arms. Best smile I captured of the groom all day. Marriage didn't last 6 months from what I've heard.
    via u/Twitfried
  • 02
    Resident-Pangolin... I don't work in the industry, just have my own personal story. My boyfriend and I got invited to his (female) coworker's wedding. We used to go dancing with her while she was engaged, her boyfriend was stationed on the East Coast. Her fiancé didn't take kindly to a male coworker showing up to the
    via u/Resident-Pangolin-24
  • 03
    wedding (that we were INVITED TO, and I even went to her bridal shower) so the groom sent his dad to threaten my boyfriend into leaving because they work in the same industry (l.e. "I have connections, you'll never work in _ again." Even though he was retired.) Groom also refused to dance with the bride except for photos, and she loved to line dance so she was
    via u/Resident-Pangolin-24
  • 04
    crushed. All of us who cared about the bride knew her groom was just a They lasted a year. guy.
    via u/Resident-Pangolin-24
  • 05
    MissCarolineC At a wedding when the "I do's" came, the groom said, "I guess".
    via u/MissCarolineC
  • 06
    [deleted] I have a friend who is a wedding photographer - a rather busy and expensive one at that, so people usually book a year in advance. So she had a bride book the wedding date and pay the deposit (nothing unusual there). The bride confirmed the venue (also booked and pricey), and had the general discussions with her about the style that she
    via u/[deleted]
  • 07
    wanted etc. They had regular meetings over the following months, but the groom was never there (a bit unusual, but not unheard of). So it's now 4 weeks before the wedding and they have the meeting to lock down all the details, but still no groom. My friend asks about him, and the bride mentions for the first time that she isn't engaged.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 08
    Okay, maybe she has a long term boyfriend and is planning a surprise wedding... No, it turns out that she doesn't have a boyfriend or any guy in mind. But she prayed about it and god told her to trust that he will provide a groom for her... So, in the end, no groom magically materialised, and there was no wedding.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 09
    So in that case, the marriage lasted 0 minutes and we were all sure that it wasn't going to work out. In fact at the time we had some running jokes about her meeting a guy on a date and asking him if he wants to go to a wedding with her next weekend.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 10
    Cheezburger Image 10512655104
    via A. C. For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 11
    fad... I've been right a few times. for sure. Photographer here. One groom was so full of himself, but did that "Whatever you want, my Queen" thing where he wants to be seen as this great guy, but really he's a self-absorbed a "chef" and telling people that. • He was loved
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 12
    It was a quick engagement and marriage, and I got the feeling maybe too quick. The wedding and reception were to be at his parents place, and his mom had a lot of input, as did his sister. The bride got shut down whenever she talked. On the day of the wedding, I arrive to sh ot the bride getting ready. She is alone with the hair and makeup person. I initially thought
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 13
    that person was a friend, but she wasn't. Her bridesmaids were not there. Two hours go by. She can't get a hold of them. The makeup person leaves. I help her put her veil on and do up her shoes. I am feeling so bad for her, and also awkward as f This is supposed to be her big day and here is basically a stranger putting her veil on and telling her she looks great.
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 14
    Finally, the bridesmaids come in. The maid of honour is the groom's sister. When the bride questions them, the sister says they went out for breakfast. The bride asks why they wouldn't tell her or bring her food and they get pissy, like she's being bridezilla. Then it comes out that the groom was invited for breakfast, along with the groomsmen. And they all had started drinking. It's only 11:30am and the bridal
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 15
    party is half lit. The kicker? None of the bridesmaids are dressed or have their hair or makeup done. The wedding is in 30mins. I get 0 photos of the bridesmaids. I run to sh ot the groomsmen. They are doing shots. I get some great photos of them because they're d and all dressed up and feeling great.
    via u/
  • 16
    Wedding happens and that part is fine. We are supposed to go to a nearby beach and trail for photos. This never happens because the groom is literally talking to every person in attendance in the longest receiving line situation I have ever seen. He keeps drinking. The meal happens and takes forever. The sun is about to set. I tell the couple I literally have 0 photos of
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 17
    them alone together and we need to go. He says "Yeah, yeah after the speeches." He gets up to speak after several of his friends and his sister do 10-minute speeches and he goes on. And on. And on. Most of it has nothing to do with his new bride. 30mins into his speech and the sun has set.
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 18
    He finally finishes and I approach the bride. She just looks at me, defeated, and says, "You can just go home now." Groom was in the middle of a group of people, chugging a beer and laughing loudly while his beautiful new bride sat alone, seemingly wondering what the f she got herself into.
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 19
    I delivered the images and they didn't pay the remainder amount. I got a million excuses. After a month, I finally texted him. and said I was going through small claims. The next day he sent an EFT with an angry message about hounding him and giving me a bad review. I saw her six months later at a restaurant and before I could ask, she told me she
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 20
    left him. - Saw him a few months ago working at a liquor store downtown I guess being a chef didn't work out (a friend told me they know of him and he got fired from three restaurants). He ignored me while he flirted hard with this woman. I sh you not - just before we left he said to her, "I'm off in 5 minutes. I'll walk with you to
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 21
    that store. I'll tell Charlie to put that delicious Cab Sauv aside for you." So smooth. Good luck, lady.
    via u/fadetowhite
  • 22
    JacquiTS Heard from a friend who did calligraphy that a bride came to get wedding invites and the usual wording of 'bride mum and dad and groom mum and dad invite you to the wedding of bride and groom", bride didn't want grooms parents names
    via u/JacquiTS
  • 23
    on the invite. My mate did an invite mock-up called the couple for a check and the groom lost it, because grooms parents were the ones paying for most of the wedding. They didn't need any invites.
    via u/JacquiTS
  • 24
    mercuryrising 137 Many years ago I had a side hustle doing cakes and would often get orders for wedding cakes. Long story short, the bride to be threw a full-fledged stompy- footed tantrum, locking herself in my bathroom and refused to come out because the groom was "unreasonably insisting" on
    via u/mercuryrising137
  • 25
    having a say in what the cake flavour was going to be. Like, I'd say through the door, "Get out of my bathroom!" and all I'd get was a whiny defiant little "Nooooooooooooooooooo O!!!!!!" IIRC she was about 22.
    via u/mercuryrising137
  • 26
    mesembryanthem... I work and n a hotel. I came in one night to find the wedding was already wrapped up (it was supposed to go until 1 AM and it was 11 PM) because the wedding couple had a fight and she went home with mom.
    via u/mesembryanthemum
  • 27
    At another one they had a huge rehearsal dinner fight which spilled out into the lobby. Everyone in the lobby. found out that she hated his parents, she was pregnant and she had no idea who the father was, and a few other things. Half the guest list packed up and checked out the next day. They still got married.
    via u/mesembryanthemum
  • 28
    Cheezburger Image 10512654848
    via Karolina Grabowska For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 29
    furry_hamburger_... I'm a musician and the son of a wedding photographer. I've actually played in a band whose leader, on the wedding day, took a deposit for the divorce party that was to follow. The groom's mother laid it down and said "I give it six months". Nine months later, there we were, and there she (the bride) wasn't.
    via u/furry_hamburger_****
  • 30
    JoeEIRE When the bride and groom argued over why the grooms mother shouldn't get all money given to them on their wedding day. Ya that was a red flag.
    via u/JoeEIRE
  • 31
    Eg... Not actually in the industry but i have helped out a friend with a few weddings. Two of the weddings i could just tell they weren't going. to make it. The first wedding the bride and groom hardly talked the entire wedding. It was like they had nothing in common. And then later the groom pretty much f s off half way through and went home because i quote "he
    via u/EggSegret
  • 32
    was tired". So he just left his bride having to take pictures with the wedding guests on her own. He never came back that evening so she had to greet everyone off etc. Funny enough about a year later i heard they're filing for divorce. Another time was actually last summer. Just before the wedding speeches the groom went go hang out with his friends for like half
    via u/EggSegret
  • 33
    an hour leaving the bride sitting there alone and delaying the speeches. Then right after the bride and groom cut the cake he once again went to go hang out with his friends and abandoned his wife. So she was left alone having to mingle with all the guests and he made no interaction with her side of the guests. He stuck with his friends the rest of the evening. His wife
    via u/EggSegret
  • 34
    basically had to go and beg him to come and take more wedding pictures. At one point in the evening he actually went for a drive with his friends for about an hour and his wife had no idea where he was. I mean i get wanting to mingle with your friends at your wedding but to not even mingle with your wife's family or friends on your wedding day seems. quite ride.
    via u/EggSegret
  • 35
    [deleted] I worked fine dining/catering for over 20 years so I've worked lots of weddings and receptions. I once heard a bride at the reception during the toasts say that she actually thought she was asking out the grooms twin brother on their first date and that might actually be cute except she ...just kept going on. How the twin was
    via u/[deleted]
  • 36
    more compatible, etc. then she ended the toast with "well...as nice as you are you'll make a great first husband". I was walking past the camera man at that time and you can hear me on tape saying "did you get that? Tell me you got that".
    via u/[deleted]
  • 37
    The_Woman_S Long time ago- worked as a wedding planner/caterer (depended on the client): woman calls on Monday morning, her fiancé had proposed the day before (Sunday) and she wanted to get married that Saturday....
    via u/The_Woman_S
  • 38
    Toronto_Planner I was a wedding planner for almost a decade and saw these types of couples regularly. My biggest key indicator for this was whether they cared more about the wedding day than actually being married to one another. For example, I remember one couple who really wanted an over-the-top
    via u/Toronto_Planner
  • 39
    wedding that would be good enough to be featured in a popular luxury wedding magazine. They spared no expense. They became so obsessed with this that they were even choosing members of their bridal party based on their looks. rather than their relationship with them. The bride had 2 brothers, one brother looked like a model for Hugo Boss and her other brother looked
    via u/Toronto_Planner
  • 40
    a bit like fat Thor. Well, only the "hot" brother was selected to be a groomsman. Things like this caused a lot of tension between family members and fights between the couple. It was awkward a lot of the time. I knew for sure this couple wouldn't make it for long.
    via u/Toronto_Planner
  • 41
    Interestingly enough, the couple divorced a week before their wedding was featured in that luxury bridal magazine.
    via u/Toronto_Planner
  • 42
    justanotherone1111 My background is in Marriage and Family Therapy and I work at a wedding venue now. There have been many times that I thought a couple is destined for future therapy, if not divorce. Especially when I see the "four horsemen of the apocalypse" as described by Gottman- criticism, contempt,
    via u/justanotherone1111
  • 43
    defensiveness, or stonewalling. I also assume that things won't end well when either of the bride or groom is a big bu y towards me or the other vendors- it just makes me feel bad for the future spouse.
    via u/justanotherone1111
  • 44
    But we don't tend to hear much from the couples once they are married, so I usually won't know how things end up down the road.
    via u/justanotherone1111
  • 45
    Cheezburger Image 10512648960
    via Carlo Buttinoni on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 46
    CapeAnnimal I had a buddy who put himself through grad school playing violin at weddings. He said there were several that 'everybody knew' it was the wrong choice. He said you could just see it in their eyes and how they walked.
    via u/CapeAnnimal
  • 47
    WhoRUAgain I'm a wedding photographer, and the first red flag was how much flipping money they were spending. They had multiple venues, one was a golf resort. Really fancy schmancy. Could've bought a really reeeeally nice car with that kind of money. Down payment on an expensive home kind of money.
    via u/WhoRUAgain
  • 48
    Second, when I showed up to do the getting ready shots in their house the husband's family was really nice to me, almost treated me like a family friend. Whenever she was brought up his family would look at me and make a face or roll their eyes, obviously not happy with his choice of lady. It seemed implied that since they already had a kid that I guess he haaaaas to...
    via u/WhoRUAgain
  • 49
    which was kind of sad. I had half a mind to tell him that he didn't have to get married if he wasn't happy. Which I may have implied very gently.. Not professional I know but she was kind of a monster, not just the day of, but even after. In my opinion, she treated her new husband really poorly. Right after the ceremony, they were outside
    via u/WhoRUAgain
  • 50
    and she was already yelling at him about something. Just checked, and they're still married but according to her posts she's antivax.
    via u/WhoRUAgain
  • 51
    RaF_MAL I worked at a hotel in the kitchen, we did a trashy wedding where the cake was brought in from walmart, groom was caught making out with a bridesmaid in a conference room and we saw the bride throw her ring into a storm drain across the street.
    via u/RaF_MAL

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