Bride’s Father Leaves Wedding Immediately After Walking His Daughter Down the Aisle: ‘He walked over to my in-laws and said he was “feeling sick” so he left’

Author image for Olivia Arocena
Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Oct 24, 2026 11:15 AM EDT

Some parents can't handle not being the centre of attention, but you can't point it out to them because they won't admit it

Your wedding is supposed to be your night. It's one of those (rare) occasions in which the spotlight is on you. Yet some parents still manage to make it about themselves.

They might genuinely feel that they're getting sick, or have intense stomach pain out of the blue, and have to storm out of the party, leaving everyone worried.

Imagine you're so committed to making everything about yourself that you do it unconsciously. I guess you can't blame them, because if they do it unconsciously, they're not doing it on purpose. You can and should get mad at them, though, because they can ruin your night, but in the end, it's because they likely have a very deep psychological wound. Otherwise, why would you do that?

Seeing somebody else shine might trigger feelings of inadequacy for them. They don't consciously want to sabotage your happiness, but they can't tolerate the feelings that arise when somebody else is the center of attention.

Of course, you can't discuss something they aren't even aware of, so you're likely stuck having to process it on your own. If they were aware of this, they would probably manage it in another way, by talking to you or somebody they trust, and trying to resolve their issues. But they can't, and it manifests as sudden stomach aches or itching.  If it really is like this, there is nothing you can do about it.

I was the first in my family to go to college, and when I finally got in, I remember my father looked at me in the eye and said I should go back to school because I was surpassing him. He looked very worried. Instead of being proud, he took it upon himself and saw his own daughter as competence.

Luckily, at that time, I only saw him as a wounded person, and I didn't think too much of it, but he did stuff like that many times years later, and I think it all had to do with his own frustrations.

Anyways, having unresolved psychological issues might explain why you behave in a certain way, but it doesn't excuse you. You still have responsibility for your actions.

That's the most frustrating thing about dealing with people like this: you can understand where their actions come from, but that doesn't mean you should silently accept everything they do. And it certainly doesn't make their behaviour any less hurtful.

When you're dealing with emotionally immature people, you'll end up comforting them for something they did to you, and that's simply not fair. That's why you should be very careful with who you choose to spend your time with, and it doesn't matter if it's family or not.

Understanding someone psychologically doesn't mean you can stop them from ruining your party.

What you can do is uninvite them from the next one! Cheers.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10672751872
    via Maria Luísa Queiroz

    The grooms walking down the aisle

    Representative only.

  • 02

    My (the bride) dad left after walking me down the aisle

    Yes. You read that right. My wedding was yesterday. A few small things went wrong as I had. expected. It all started at the rehearsal on Friday.
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    For some context, my dad. is a HUGE football fan. He basically makes it his personality. He has only missed 8 games since 1976. That's how dedicated he is. So, I was afraid he would make
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    some comment about missing a game during his speech at the wedding reception, so at the rehearsal dinner I went up to him and said something along the lines of "hey, please don't say anything
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
  • 05
    about football tomorrow - I know how involved you are in it but I'd appreciate it if you didn't". Immediately after he copped an attitude and said "it'll be short sweet and to the point you don't have to
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    worry". So I carried on with the night. During the actual rehearsal run through, as planned he was to walk me down the aisle. In the part where I take his arm to start walking, he basically held
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    his arms to his front and wouldn't let me rope my arm through his. This happened in both run throughs. I thought it was weird but whatever, my dad is weird about touchy feely so that's what I thought it was.
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    Later on, right as everyone was sitting down for the dinner, he walked over to my in laws and said he was "feeling sick" so he left. I didn't think anything of it. We finished the night and went all our separate ways.
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    Cheezburger Image 10672751616
    via Jonathan Borba

    The aisle before the dad left

    Scene shown is a visual representation

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    So, wedding day - I told my mom if my dad was acting weird he wouldn't be walking me down the aisle. He didn't arrive until about an hour before the ceremony and I didn't really see him. My mom, of
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    all people, should have been able to tell if he was acting funny. She claimed she didn't know. So he walked me down the aisle. It was beautiful. Only one hiccup with the music. My husband and I go to
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    take our pics after the ceremony. We come back from that & go to bustle my dress. The coordinator comes to help and says my dad left because he was "feeling a little sick". I was shocked. I later saw
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    my brother and he said it's because I "attacked" my dad with what I said. So, my dad left. Right after the ceremony. I'm his only daughter. My brother married his wife but they just went to the
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    courthouse because they didn't want to deal with this drama we know our parents would put us through. I am still livid from yesterday. I most certainly won't let him live down the
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    fact he left the wedding acting like a child as a 60 something year old adult. My father in law and I danced instead of my dad. I'm sure you could see the anger on my face during that dance, but oh well.
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    What's done is done. My in laws were disgusted with my dad as well. They couldn't believe he acted the way he did. I'm writing this from the airport, waiting to leave for our honeymoon. I'm
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    hoping I can forget it for our trip but it's still just so hurtful to me and my husband. Let me know your thoughts on this. At this point I'm trying to get my anger out lol.
    via Forsaken_Recover_633
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    Jazzlike_Adeptness_1 He wasn't offended. He went home to watch football.
    via Jazzlike_Adeptness_1
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    1TiredPrsn I'm so sorry. I'd be furious at anyone making excuses for a grown man acting like a petulant child. And as for him, low contact if any at all. Please enjoy your honeymoon!
    via 1TiredPrsn
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    Cheezburger Image 10672752128
    via Vitaly Gariev

    The dad watching fotball at home with a friend after leaving

    Model portrayal

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