The stress that comes with planning a wedding can often cause serious family tensions, particularly when it comes to deciding who can attend your big day. While many loved-up couples put their difficult guestlist decisions down to financial limitations, one young woman has been left devastated by the 'arbitrary exclusion rule' that her future aunt put in place to stop her being a bridesmaid.
In a shocking ordeal that caused 'family trauma', a 16-year-old has claimed that her aunt-to-be told her that she would need to lose a 'good amount of weight' in order to be part of the bridal party as she'd 'ruin the pictures' otherwise. Taking to Reddit to share her story, the young woman revealed that she had already been losing weight ahead of her uncle's wedding, but not because of his partner's demands.
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The teen wrote: "She texted me asking if I've managed to lose some weight because she needed to know if she can include me or not. I didn't reply as I thought she was mean, and they were going to visit us the very next day."
She admitted that she'd "never asked to be in the wedding party" so decided to ignore her future aunt's pleas to drop the pounds, instead following her own personal health journey - regardless of the looming wedding.
After realising that her niece-to-be had lost weight, the aunt, known as Olivia, was apparently delighted and asked her to be a part of her wedding party.
Dubbing her future relative as a 'narcissist,' the 16 year old claims that Olivia took credit for her weight loss. The aunt told her it is a 'great feeling when you see how you've influenced someone to better their lives'.
The family dispute reached boiling point when the young woman decided to ditch the wedding all together, much to the disappointment of her uncle, Barry.
According to the Reddit post, Barry had no idea about the ultimatum that his niece had been given until this bombshell moment.
She wrote: "Uncle Barry called me immediately asking me what's going on and I told him that I felt bullied by Olivia (both back then and now) and if we don't get along then what's the point of being there if it makes both of us uncomfortable."
After telling her uncle that his future wife had been 'bullying' her throughout the whole ordeal, Barry agreed that his partner's actions were unacceptable, but pleaded for his niece's forgiveness.
In a dramatic ending to the Reddit post, the 16-year-old claims her mum is backing her future aunt in the pre-wedding spat.
She added: "My mom has taken Olivia's side and believes I'm being too dramatic and I should apologize to her and just participate like a normal person would, and said that all this is my fault and I'm ruining my uncle's wedding."
Many Reddit commenters shared their dismay at the aunt's actions. One user branded the whole situation as "ridiculous" and asked how a "30yo woman is body shaming a teenager and thinking it's okay?!".
"You didn't overreact and I'm sorry your uncle is trying to make you "forgive" Olivia so things are easier for him. I'm sorry you aren't being properly heard and validated by those two family members," the commenter continued.
"Unfortunately, it makes sense Olivia would twist the truth and blame you for people objecting to her actions as if you put them up to it. I hope you can stay away form Olivia as much as possible."
Another angry Reddit poster urged the niece to stand her ground, saying: "Your mom should be SUPPORTING you in this. Olivia was being downright horrible to you. Stick to your guns.
"You've stood up to a bully and "OH NO The bully doesn't like it!" She's over 30. Time for her to learn there's consequences for being an awful person," they added.
One commenter went as far as saying that they hope the wedding gets called off. They said: "I hope he breaks off the engagement bc that’s foul she’s treating her fiancés niece like that.
"Go out and eat a nice meal on their wedding day if it’s still happening, you deserve the best!!".
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