A woman revealed she was pregnant while toasting her father at his own wedding reception, she sparked controversy. Gabriella Morby, 32, of Birmingham, England, made the announcement during a speech at her father’s wedding celebration after he married her new stepmother in July 2022.
During her address, she handed her father a childhood book, adding she “actually got you a little gift.”
In her address, she recalled her father reading her stories from the book when he returned home from work “as a special father-daughter treat.”
“So, Dad, I want you to turn to the first page and see why I bought this book for you,” she said, as Fox News reported.
She added that she hoped he would see he’d have “reason to read this book again in the not-so-distant future.”
Morby had hidden a sonogram within the book, showing that she was expecting and that her father would soon become a grandfather.
Given that Morby’s father and new stepmother claimed the news “completely made their day,” the young woman, who works as a tutor and content developer, subsequently posted a video of her speech on her TikTok account.
“They both cried at the time and were so emotional and happy,” said Morby, according to Local Today. “It was a really special moment as they had no idea I was going to announce that I was pregnant,” Morby mentioned that she and her husband had been trying for three months to conceive a child.
She further stated that after the wedding, her father “couldn’t stop re-watching the video of the speech and announcement.” Many people criticized her for being “selfish,” and some even accused her of having “main character syndrome” for trying to divert attention away from the bride and groom on their wedding day.
“Being called ‘selfish’ online was quite hurtful as my decision to announce my pregnancy was to make my dad and stepmom even happier on their special day,” said Morby, according to My London News.
“It wasn’t meant to be about me at all.”
Morby added that she was “nervous about doing a speech in the first place” — and that she “did it purely for [her] dad and stepmom.” “There certainly wasn’t any other intention,” she added. The criticism made her feel “saddened and shocked,” she said — clarifying that she “would never have done anything like this at, say, a friend’s wedding.”
Both her father and stepmother were “so excited about the idea of becoming grandparents,” she said, even saying that they could not wait to babysit for her once her child was born.
Knowing this, Morby said she “wanted to announce the news in a special way where they would be surprised and not expect it and also knowing they would be surrounded by their close family and friends to share in the moment of them finding out they were both becoming grandparents.”
“People can be so quick to judge someone they don’t know,” Morby added. “I’m a big believer in the importance of mental health and wish social media didn’t have a toxic side attached to it. The world would be a much happier place if everyone was kind.”