When someone’s idea of humor is mean-spirited, it can lead to real damage, especially when they pick the worst possible time to act on it.
So, what do you do when a family member takes a joke too far, embarrassing your partner on what’s supposed to be the happiest day of your life?
Do you let it go because that’s how they are?
Or do you cut ties with them, at least temporarily?
In the following story, a groom finds himself in this exact predicament.
Here’s how it played out.
My wedding was this past weekend, and I’m honestly still in shock over what happened.
My fiancé (now wife) and I have been together for 7 years.
We’ve gone through everything together—moving in, job losses, her battle with anxiety, everything.
So our wedding day was supposed to be our day to finally celebrate all that, right?
Well, it was—until my brother decided to ruin it.
Not everyone likes the brother’s sense of humor.
For context, my brother (30M) has always had a weird thing about “pranks.”
He calls them jokes, but honestly, they’ve always been mean-spirited and embarrassing.
Growing up, I’d laugh it off or get mad, and he’d say I was being too sensitive.
But this time, it went way too far.
During our reception, he got up to give a speech.
I thought it would be nice—maybe he’d say something heartfelt for once.
But no.
Instead, he pulls out a slideshow of “hilarious” photos of my wife—old ones from her Instagram where she’s crying, looking vulnerable, or just super unflattering.
He starts making jokes about her weight fluctuations, saying how she used to “look like a twig” when we first started dating, but now she’s “more well-fed.”
The wife was embarrassed, and others were appalled.
My wife’s face turned white.
She started crying quietly, and my brother?
He just kept going, laughing like he was the funniest guy on the planet. The whole room was dead silent.
I saw red. I stood up, walked right over to him, and told him to leave—right in the middle of his “speech.”
I said he was done and didn’t care if he was my brother.
My wife was humiliated.
He tried to brush it off, saying I was ruining the fun and that “everyone else thought it was funny.”
No one laughed. Not one person.
He refused to leave at first, so I told security to get him out.
He stormed out, calling me a “drama queen” on the way out.
Emotions are still running high.
Now, my parents are furious with me for embarrassing my brother at “my own wedding.”
They think I overreacted and should have let it slide because “he didn’t mean it.”
My mom even said my wife was overreacting, too, and that this was all just part of his “sense of humor.”
My wife hasn’t stopped crying since.
I told my family we’re taking a break from them.
But now my phone is blowing up with texts from my mom and dad, saying I’ve fractured the family and ruined my own wedding over a joke.
I get that I blew up, but I couldn’t stand seeing my wife so hurt.
Did I go too far?
AITA?
The parents should probably stay out of it because the brother is way out of line.
Let’s see what advice Reddit readers have to offer him.
Ouch, this person would make it a legal issue.
This person thinks he did the right thing.
As this comment points out, the joke was way too personal.
Here’s someone who blames the parents for making the brother like that.
Most people would’ve done the same.
The brother’s actions crossed a line that you just don’t cross at someone’s wedding, no matter what.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.