'So, when are you getting a real job': Dad belittles daughter's art teacher fiancé Leo for his career choice, she stands up for him and cuts family dinner short

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Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Sep 14, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Family dinner can be tricky enough in and of itself, but when your parents don't approve of your partner, what's meant to be a wholesome opportunity to bond over a shared meal can turn into a battleground of passive-aggressive comments and awkward silences. That's exactly what one woman had to endure the other night, when a Sunday dinner turned sour thanks to her dad's "jokes" directed at her fiancé, Leo, a high school art teacher. Sure, it's not the highest-paying job out there, but he's proud of the work he does shaping young minds and loves going to work every day. Her dad, however, thinks otherwise, and made his opinion known in the form of multiple, unrelenting digs at Leo's expense. The couple finally reached a breaking point and left dinner, but now everyone seems to think they overreacted.

I remember when my parents didn't really like my college boyfriend. In the end, they were right. Sort of; they were perhaps wrong about the nature of our relationship's eventual demise, but they were right in the fact that that young man was NOT for me. Either way, they never treated him badly, even when he came over for dinner, scrolled Instagram at the table while eating, and explained his "life plan" to my parents (posting clips of himself playing the guitar on TikTok until a producer noticed him). The issue here isn't our narrator's dad's disapproval, but how far he goes in voicing it. He definitely crosses the line between a conerned dad and outright disrespect. 

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  • 01

    AITA for leaving a family dinner after my dad kept mocking my fiancé's career?

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  • 02
    1 (29F) am engaged to "Leo" (30M), who works as a high school art teacher. He loves what
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    he does, and while it's not the highest-paying job, he's dedicated and makes a difference.
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  • 04
    At Sunday dinner, my dad (57M) made multiple digs about Leo's career. He asked, "So, when are
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  • 05
    you getting a real job?" and later joked that "art teachers are just failed artists." Everyone laughed except me and Leo.
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  • 07
    When my dad wouldn't stop, I told him he was being disrespectful and we left. Now my siblings say I overreacted and
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    "embarrassed" the family by walking out. My dad insists he was "just joking" and I need to lighten up.
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  • 09
    AITA for walking out of dinner instead of ignoring it?
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  • Teaching is an admirable profession, but let's say, for argument's sake, that he does have some incredibly volatile job that has 0 chance of bearing fruit in the future, that is simply no way to treat a guest!

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  • 11
    ShantyheR NTA. Your family's laughter shows they're the problem not you.
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  • 12
    GemCup Exactly. Their reaction says more about them than it ever did about you.
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  • 13
    R de Vermicelli2268 And her father is r de, immature and churlish. That was an inexcusable way to behave towards a guest in your home.
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  • 14
    Altruistic-Bunny And now you can save money on the wedding by not inviting. them. "Do not worry dad. Since you obviously do respect my
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    choice of partner, you do not need to worry about walking me down the aisle. You do not even need to worry about watching me get married. "
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    Forgot a 'not' - i am sure you can figure out where.
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  • 17
    GemCup Totally agree. Art teachers change lives your fiancé deserves respect, not judgment. Good on you for standing your ground.
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  • I can name every art teacher I've had since kindergarten because they were so impactful in my life!

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  • 19
    NefariousnessSweet70 Art classes were the sanity saving part of my high school years. I still recall 50+ years later, the lessons. I do envy your fiancee.
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  • 20
    Let the others know that such disrespect will result in the retraction of their invites to your wedding. And be sure they know that you are not joking.
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  • 21
    If he does not wake up to his rudeness,, he will not walk you up the aisle.
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  • 22
    mettarific I would 100% have done the same thing. NTA.
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  • 23
    Few-Illustrator63 Yes. Everyone else was being disrespectful to your fiancé, especially your dad. They should all apologize.
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  • 24
    scbalazs NTA. Find jokes about your Dad's career and have them at the ready.
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  • 25
    Garden_Lady2 Your dad embarrassed the family. There is no reason you and your BF should stick around to be disrespected, especially after you spoke up and the disrespect
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    continued. Your dad needs to learn that being cruel and calling it a joke doesn't really make it a joke, it just means he enjoys
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    being cruel. Tell your siblings that if they're ever brave enough to bring a friend to family dinner you'll do your best to mock their friends since they feel that treatment is fine.
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family relationship advice family drama relationships teacher parenting dad love education parents dating couples engagement marriage Father
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