Boyfriend chooses music festival over ‘boring’ wedding, girlfriend calls him a child, considers break-up

A 26-year-old woman is reconsidering her six-year relationship after her boyfriend told her he plans to skip her stepsister’s wedding to attend an annual music festival. Posting on Reddit, she explained that she and her boyfriend, who have lived together for three years, rarely disagreed, until now. “We rarely argue but we’ve been arguing about a subject that neither one wants to budge on,” she wrote according to People.

The conflict began when the wedding invitation arrived, and her boyfriend insisted he would still be going to the festival, telling her she could attend the wedding alone. She initially thought he was joking, but realised he was serious when he announced to friends that he’d already bought his ticket. “I’m not missing the festival for the wedding,” he told her.

The woman described calmly explaining how much it would mean to her if he attended the wedding, but her boyfriend said he “doesn’t want to go”.

She accused him of “being a child”, claiming he uses the festival as an excuse to drink heavily with friends. He replied that he’d “much rather be a child at the festival than to be bored at my step sister’s wedding, because all of our family gatherings are ‘boring’.” The argument led to her sleeping on the couch for a week.

Later, after she broke down crying, her boyfriend suggested a compromise: he’d go to the festival, then “grab a cab to the wedding and change in the bathroom at the courthouse”, planning to leave the wedding early to return to the festival. She was worried he’d be “hungover, stinky from the campsite and won’t even be there for the whole thing,” and suggested he commute the night before to get proper rest and a shower. He refused, saying he didn’t want to miss a new drinking challenge with friends.

The situation escalated, with her boyfriend accusing her of using her emotions “as a manipulation tactic”. She then decided to stay at her mother’s house, where her family was upset with her boyfriend.

Her stepfather commented that he shouldn’t attend the wedding at all because he would “ruin” it, a sentiment she agreed with. “I texted him yesterday to be at the festival and to not go to the wedding. He didn’t reply. The festival starts today, so he’s probably already drunk,” she wrote.

Now, she’s rethinking the entire relationship, worried she’s “not his first choice and I never will be”. She admitted to looking at apartments and wondering if she’s overreacting: “Is this a good enough reason to break up with him? We’ve been together for six years and it feels a little silly to end it over something like this,” she asked.

In an update, she confirmed her boyfriend texted to say he wouldn’t be at the wedding, and the couple planned to talk in person after the festival. “Until then I will be helping to set up the venue for my sister and focus on her,” she wrote.

Commenters were divided, with some questioning why he couldn’t skip the festival for one year, while others noted the couple’s conflicting priorities. One wrote, “You’ve grown up and he has not. Never hold yourself back while waiting for someone to catch up.”