What Bride’s Sister Did As Maid-of-Honor ‘Humiliated’ Her in Speech Backed

The internet has been left infuriated after discovering the reason why a woman left her sister’s wedding early.

Racking up 8,000 upvotes, Reddit user Few_Setting_4917 explained that she was a bridesmaid last week and described the celebration as “beautiful” and “perfect.” However, things soon took a turn for the worse during the speeches.

The 27-year-old wrote: “The maid of honor who has been my sister’s best friend since childhood gave her speech. It was emotional and all but then she made a joke about how I was the family screw-up who finally managed to do something right by not messing up my bridesmaid duties. Everyone laughed but I didn’t find it funny.”

The woman explained that the last few years have been “rough” as she has been struggling with her mental health.

According to the CDC, more than 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness, and over 1 in 5 youth (ages 13-18) either currently or at some point in their lives have had a seriously debilitating mental illness.

She wrote: “I’ve since gotten my life back on track but it’s still a sensitive topic for me. Hearing that joke in front of all our family and friends wasn’t funny at all. My sister’s best friend and I never really got along but still, I never expected something like this from her. Especially if the day wasn’t about me at all then why bring me up in the speech?”

Despite trying to stay composed, the woman couldn’t help but cry so she snuck outside and her sister followed to see if she was OK. However, the conversation brought her little comfort and she left the wedding early.

“My parents [understood] why I was upset but my sister is [still] angry with me. I do feel terrible for leaving but I also feel like I had the right to feel hurt and humiliated,” she wrote.

Since sharing the post on May 31, she has added more information explaining that she didn’t want to “cause a scene” on her older sister’s big day. She also highlighted how the friend once said she “doesn’t feel comfortable” around someone struggling with their mental health so they have never had a bond.

Expert Advice

Often, best man speeches have the whole room roaring with laughter, and the same can most likely be said for their female counterparts too. However, wedding expert Zoe Burke advises against taking it too far.

The editor of wedding planner website Hitched told Newsweek: “With any wedding speech, the jokes should never be overly personal. It’s fine to poke a little fun at the newlyweds, if you feel confident they’ll be okay with it, but the secret to a good wedding speech is to understand your audience, recognize what they’ll be comfortable with and tailor the jokes to suit them.

“Even with a best man speech, which is traditionally based on making fun of the groom—when the banter crosses a line and becomes too personal, people will remember the speech for all the wrong reasons.”

Reddit Reacts

At the time of writing, the post has 1,000 comments and one has received 6,200 upvotes.

It said: “NTA. No one wants to be the butt of a joke and the friend should have run the speech by your sister prior. Very poor taste.”

Another user wrote: “NTA; You were publicly insulted and humiliated at your sister’s wedding. Leaving early is a reasonable response.”

A third commenter agreed: “NTA. That was not a joke, it was an insult, and regardless if her friend ‘meant nothing bad’ it still had the same effect. There was absolutely no reason for you, nor your past struggles, to be mentioned in a speech at your sister’s wedding. Your sister is being disrespectful, cruel, and dismissive. Her friend was in very bad taste, as was anyone who would find such commentary funny.”

Newsweek reached out to u/Few_Setting_4917 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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