AITA for refusing to attend my friend’s wedding after their prank?

A Reddit user shares their frustration with a prank played by their close friends, Anna (32) and Michael (34), who are engaged. Michael falsely claimed that Anna had cheated and that their relationship was over, only to reveal later that it was a joke. The user, feeling disrespected, decided not to attend their wedding. While some friends support this decision, others think they’re overreacting, calling Anna and Michael’s behavior “theatrical.”

‘ AITA for refusing to attend my friend’s wedding after their prank?’

I’ve been friends with Anna and Michael (32 & 34) for almost 5 years now, I am closer to Michael (relevant) but do appreciate them both a lot.

So, to the story, a year ago they got engaged and I was very happy for them, they’ve been very secretive about the wedding planning but it is not of my business and don’t bring it up when I am with them, a couple of days ago Michael messaged me asking me for help driving him to the airport, and then that he had some news, it went like this:. Michael: we have a wedding date. Me: so exciting.

Michael: just kidding, she has been cheating and I broke it off, I am done with her, please don’t ever even mention her to me. I was so sad but was very careful about saying anything mean about her since I have no idea what is actually happening, also if I trash talk about her and then they reconcile I would look like an ass.

So, he invited me to lunch to “talk about what happened”, it turns out nothing happened and they are still together, I tried to play it off joking that they were so mean and tried to keep the mood light since I didn’t want to make the moment even more awkward. I am mad they were playing around with that d**bass joke, so after some thought I told some common friends I don’t feel like I should attend the wedding since they were mocking me.

Some of our common friends claim they were so insane to do that and it is better if I take some distance but some other friends are mad at me for being dramatic as Anna and Michael are known for being theatrical.

Edit per feedback from the comments: I am a single F (32) & I feel like they were mocking because they made this elaborate story and then surprised me at lunch with “lol, we were just kidding” and they only did it for their own amusement.

Here’s what the community had to contribute:

Armadillo_of_doom −  NTA. That was a “friend test” to see if you’d be supportive of one and trash the other. Friends who do these tests are crappy. Leave the friendship.

SpringfieldMO_Daddy −  NTA – but at a guess. She really did cheat and he is trying to walk it back and play it off.

CivMom −  Are you female? Or is Michael Bi? Were they testing you in some way? that’s so weird, and d**bass is a good word for it. I would have a hard time trusting them again. NTA.

heyclau −  NTA, don’t go if you feel like that. People calling you dramatic can deal with their antics, you’re not obliged to do that.

Ok-Season5497 −  Thats not really a prank that’s just strange behavior. Your NTA for wanting to put some distance between you.

LunaaSkyee −  Tbh that prank was weird and messed up.. making up a fake cheating story just to surprise u for their own amusement??? Nah you’re not allowed to feel hurt and take a step back no one likes being played with like that.. if they’re always Theatrical they should also understand the actions have consequences and u not wanting to go is urs .. you’re not obligated to sit through their wedding after being treated like the punchline of a joke.

FoxySlyOldStoatyFox −  NTA. As the old saying goes: “If you know someone keeps shitting their pants, don’t agree to share their underwear with them.”

Born-Work2089 −  NTA, but never trust what they say. If they say anything that is provocative or of concern to you, assume they may be lying. You can even add “you tell the best jokes”.

CarryOk3080 −  Nta. But these aren’t friends they are manic pixies that require a certain level of attention. Drop them like hot potatoes.

Allyka88 −  NTA. I would put a lot of distance between you and these “friends”. Either she did cheat, and they reconciled, but worry about what friends will think with them still getting married, this was some sort of test to see if you were going to try and “comfort” him, or they may have had a hidden camera/mic and were trying to record you saying s**t about her for some reason. That last reason is actually concerning though. Theatrical, and drama seeking/creating, are very different things. And if they are drama creators, it’s always better to avoid them.