After one recent wedding guest shared how a marriage dissolved after a cake smash, many others chimed in with similar stories.
Published on May 22, 2025 10:06AM
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Key Takeaways
- A Reddit user shared the story of a wedding cake smash gone wrong; the groom cut the bride's face with the tines of the fork during the ritual, and she spent several minutes bleeding during the reception.
- The couple divorced less than a year later. The Reddit user notes this is the third or fourth wedding he's attended with a cake smash, and all have ended in divorce.
- Other Reddit users shared stories of similar experiences, including a wedding photographer who noted that every celebration he shot that featured a cake smash all ended in divorce.
As far as antiquated wedding traditions go, most people will agree that the cake smash is one it's time to retire for good. It used to be standard practice for one or both partners to "smash" a bite of wedding cake into their new spouse's face following a cake cutting ceremony—though it was generally considered to be all in good fun, most modern couples view the long-held ritual as insulting and humiliating. Today, fewer and fewer couples are taking part in a reception cake smash, and those who choose to crush cake into their new partner's face typically do so to the confusion of guests. They also could be risking the future of their brand-new marriage.
One recent wedding guest took to Reddit to share a post-nuptial cake smash gone very, very wrong. In a thread titled "Another cake smashing ending in divorce," the user notes that he and his wife were guests at the wedding of a late-30s couple last summer. "The wedding was fine. Cake time, groom has a fork full, goes to feed it to his bride but drags his hand upwards to spear the cake on I guess her cheek," the user explains. The experience wasn't just humiliating—it was also painful. "The fork tines end up cutting her upper lip a little and there's this weird 5 mins where they're holding a fancy table napkin against her face to stop the bleeding," the user adds. "I still remember the look my wife gave me, with a shocked 'wtf was he thinking?!?!'"
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The user also adds that both partners looked uncomfortable for some time after the experience; in all likelihood, guests must have felt similarly awkward, and the light, celebratory vibe of the wedding was undoubtably thrown off.
To make matters worse, the marriage didn't work out. "They made it 10 or 11 months," the user says. "Someone told me the divorce rate is higher when people smash cake in each others faces. Seems there's a bit of truth to this." The original poster also noted that this is the third or fourth wedding he's attended with a cake smash, and those all ended in divorce, too.
So, is there some credence to the idea that a wedding cake smash could be a harbinger of trouble for a couple's marriage? Depending on how superstitious you are, you could certainly look at it that way. More likely, though, is that these relationships could lack the mutual respect and understanding that's necessary for a successful marriage; a partner who willing rubs frosting and cake into their new spouse's face—unless they've specifically said they are okay with it—in front of dozens of guests very well could be a person who isn't fully invested in their partner's happiness.
Reddit users agree that it's time to do away with the wedding cake smash. They also shared their own experiences of witnessing this ritual between couples who ultimately split, too. One user noted the story of a bride who left her husband the same night of the wedding. "Her hair, make up and dress was ruined. She walked out, and the groom's brother took her home, telling her he pulled so many pranks on him over the years, he basically doesn't see him anymore," the user replied. "She immediately packed her bags and left, and filed for divorce. What makes any man think his wife would enjoy being the butt of his joke at her own wedding?"
A former wedding photographer added, "I used to shoot weddings, over 400 in my career. There was a 100% failure rate for the cake smashers." And a bride who had cake smashed into her face chimed in, "My ex-husband did this and we were only married for 18 months."
