Woman Abandons Family after Husband's Infidelity, 10 Years Later She Appears at Son's Wedding

A woman who abandoned her family over an ugly spat involving her husband’s infidelity comes over to her son’s wedding after ten years of going no contact.

A wedding and portrait photographer took to Reddit to narrate an incredible reunion of a mother and groom who hadn’t communicated in over ten years until the guy’s wedding.

Redditor jumersmith wasn’t new to the wedding photography biz. Apart from clicking pics, he’d take home memories that last a lifetime. On one such wedding, he ran into a mother who eagerly waited to see her son, aka the groom, after ten long years of silence.

The Original Poster (OP) was told the groom’s mother wouldn’t be attending the wedding, and the stepmother would take her place in all the marriage-related events.

OP thought it would be interesting and was excited about the whole setting. Curious still, the photographer inquired if the groom’s mother was invited.

The bride later told him that she was sent an invite out of courtesy, and since she didn’t respond, the assumption would be downright “NO, she’s not attending the wedding.” However, they were wrong.

The big day finally arrived. OP was in his best avatar showing up on the wedding day. The bride immediately rushed to him and told him she was sorry about how the day would be like.

The photographer had no idea what she was talking about, but he assured the bride that he would let things happen as planned but that she needed to tell him what to do.

The bride then revealed that her partner’s mom had called her around 20 minutes earlier asking her about the parking arrangements, assuming there would be a “family only” slot available for her.

Shockingly enough, the bride had never met her beau’s mother before. It was her first time speaking to her, and it was just three hours away from the wedding.

The photographer headed to the newlywed couple to see if he’d said anything too harsh to the woman.

OP was curious to know about the groom’s reaction so the bride told him her partner was aware of his mom’s arrival. The photographer made his way to the groom for confirmation.

The groom told OP that he let his mom attend as he didn't think it was worth the trouble to bar her from the wedding, but he assured OP that if his mom made his fiancée upset in any way, he would evict her.

OP thought the ceremony had been going splendid as they’d not yet run into the groom’s estranged mother. However, when it was time for some family portraits, the woman didn’t waste a second to hop onto the scene.

But there seemed to be a slight problem with the woman’s attire. OP thought she was a misfit in the “church-themed” wedding in her ripped blue jeans, three-quarter-sleeved shirt, and a trendy purse attached to the belt clip. The mom held onto her bottle, cracked and ready to be toasted.

Though OP felt she was out of place, he lined the family for the pictures, placing the mom near the bride and the dad and stepmom near the groom. The groom allowed OP to include his mom with the family but told him not to let her near him. The photographer did what was told, but the woman didn’t take it lightly.

She frowned and never smiled for a single picture. OP quickly noticed this and asked her if everything was alright and why she never smiled in any photos.

“How dare you put her next to my son?” she told OP angrily. “I’m his mother…not that [expletive]!” she added.

The guests turned pale in silence, and OP quickly responded that the family was trying to get the wedding photoshoot done and asked if they could continue without using “expletives” on the joyful occasion. He also told the woman to just wait for the reception to start.

The woman was out of words and grunted during the photoshoot. Moments later, the guests arrived at the reception area, and it was time for the mother and son dance.

OP was curious to know who the groom would dance with—his estranged mom or stepmom. However, the stepmother offered to step aside and let the groom’s mother dance with him if he insisted. “If this can help repair things, I’ll gladly step aside,” she said.

So the groom and his estranged mother took over the dance floor. The woman sobbed on her son’s chest and expressed her delight to have him back. She told him she missed him, but the groom was stone-faced and furious with her.

OP thought the woman would chill out for the rest of the event, but to his surprise, she kept on hounding him trying to explain why she abandoned her family.

It turned out that the groom and his sister never sided with their mother after their father’s affair with the stepmom came to light. The woman abandoned them to protect herself.

She went on and on with her excuses, and t some point, OP felt it was enough. He intervened and told her he didn’t care about her reasons and was there to do his job.

He lashed at her, saying she was the one who chose not to see her kids for ten years only because her feelings were hurt. OP walked away while the woman watched in awe.

The photographer headed to the newlywed couple to see if he’d said anything too harsh to the woman. To his surprise, the groom laughed it off.

OP’s post amassed an overwhelming response, but most shared their bitter perspectives for the woman on abandoning her children when they needed her the most. Among them was Redditor ladylei, who wrote:

“She didn’t think about how much harder it is on kids to go through a parent’s divorce or how much pain and support her kids needed at all!”

“That’s why it’s so important that adults don’t add their own issues to their children’s burdens as it just makes things more complicated and hurts them,” the user added.

“This was awesome! I love your sass. It’s clear that it’s well-practiced and carefully honed,” Redditor jdfestus recounted.

OP claimed that the woman silently sat at a table for the rest of the night and that he didn’t regret whatever he told her.

“She has reached out a few times, and very few family members are letting her back in,” he concluded.

Questions to Ponder

If it hadn’t been for the wedding, would the groom’s estranged mother still try to reconcile with the family?

While dancing with the groom, the woman told him how she’d missed him, but people online claimed ten years is a considerable gap and questioned why she hadn’t tried to reconcile before. Considering her reasons for the abandonment, it’s still anybody’s guess if she would’ve tried to reconcile with her estranged family without the wedding in question.

If you were the groom, how would you react to your estranged mother's attendance at your wedding?

Several people online argued that the woman’s decision to abandon her children was selfish and caused a lot of pain for her children. This was also the reason why her son, the groom, was cold to her during the wedding. How would you react if you were the groom and your mother just arrived after a decade-long absence?

If you liked reading this story, here’s another story of a bride who got the shock of a lifetime after discovering her future mother-in-law was the woman who birthed and abandoned her.

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