A woman has made the heartbreaking decision to boycott her brother’s wedding after he asked her to leave her disabled husband at home and “come alone” to his nuptials.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that around 61 million adult Americans, or roughly 26 percent of America’s population, are living with some kind of disability.
Yet despite disabled people representing such a significant proportion of the U.S., it would appear that many still suffer from prejudice in their everyday lives. Even worse still, as one example shared to Reddit shows, that prejudice can often come closer to home that many may realize.
Writing in an account posted to the forum’s “TrueOffMyChest” subreddit, a woman explained how her husband has been wheelchair bound for the past two years as a result of a serious accident.
She has been acting as his “caregiver” ever since, acknowledging that she has found the change in their dynamic “hard.”
The woman had been due to attend her brother’s wedding but was dismayed when he sent through an invitation but “excluded” her husband, “implying it’s because he’s in a wheelchair.”
When she confronted him over the snub, he confirmed her concerns.
“My brother explained that he didn’t want for me or my husband to ‘suffer’ and suggested that I leave him at home and come alone,” she said.
His remarks sparked a major argument with the woman telling him she would not be attending the wedding if her husband was left out. “He [her husband] didn’t do anything to anyone, he’s struggling and doesn’t need them shunning him for something he has control over,” she explained.
However, her decision has drawn criticism from the rest of her family as he is her only sibling. According to the post, her parents are “pressuring” her to go and have accused her husband of being “dramatic” in not letting her go, even though it was her choice.
Branded “unsupportive and petty” over her boycott plans, the woman turned to social media for support and soon found it in plentiful supply with the majority online condemning her family’s response.
Special_Cover2777 said that her family “clearly doesn’t understand marriage” and that it is about bringing two people together to “support and care for each other.” They continued: “Your brother thinks only able bodied people should be at his wedding. Tell him that you would not go anywhere that your husband is excluded. You wouldn’t ask your brother to leave his wife at home.”
Mommy-Q was among those to highlight the hypocrisy of their stance, writing: “They want you to celebrate two people joining in sickness and in health by abandoning the husband you promised to be with in sickness and in health… because he is sick.”
WhyUH8, meanwhile, felt the groom’s actions suggested his marriage was “doomed” already. “Goes to show the brother would immediately get rid of the wife if she suffered an unfortunate accident.”
Another user, posting as LittleWren wrote: “Visibly disabled people are regularly excluded even by family. Something about us reminds people of their own mortality and it makes them uncomfortable or patronizing.”
Elsewhere, itautso felt the bride and groom “might actually need counseling if they view disability like this,” noting that “almost all of us become disabled once we reach a certain age, if we’re that lucky.”
Forge__Though urged the woman to stick to her guns, calling her a “great person and a great spouse” for defending her husband. “She should be proud, as she’s absolutely doing the right thing. Her family can go pound sand,” they added.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.
Though it might seem hard to believe, this isn’t the first time a disabled person has been excluded from what should be the happiest day in any family’s life.
In November 2021, a bride-to-be drew criticism after asking that her brother-in-law stay out of all of their wedding photos because he is in a wheelchair.
A month later, a groom drew similar anger online for insisting his future wife’s autistic sister be excluded from their wedding.
Stock image of an upset disabled man. A woman has been forced to boycott her brother’s wedding after he suggested her husband, who is in a wheelchair, stayed at home.
yacobchuk/Getty
