Man asks if he was wrong to reveal a 10 year-old secret in friend's engagement toast.
Is there a statute of limitations on teenage bad behavior, or do some secrets need to be carried to the grave?
Reddit user u/ItWasTenYearsAgo thought enough time had passed that he could tell everyone this hilarious story of the groom taking his dad's classic car out for a joy ride ala Ferris Bueller at his friend's engagement party. Turns out, he thought wrong.
Now he's in hot water with the groom and asking the internet, 'AITA (Am I The A**hole) for revealing a decade-old secret?
He writes:
My (26M) friend (24M) had his engagement party last night. At the party, his fiance asked me and some other friends that have known him for years to tell her some stories from his teen years. I thought it would be funny to tell the story of the time he and I went joyriding in his dad's vintage car (very expensive; his pride and joy).
At the time, this was obviously a huge secret. If his dad had found out, we would have been in serious trouble. But it was ten years ago. Everyone found the story funny or charming except for my friend's dad. He asked me if I made the story up. When I said no, he got kind of grumpy for the rest of the night.
My friend is now annoyed at me for telling this story. He said his dad is mad at him, so he, in turn, is mad at me. Maybe we have different family dynamics, but isn't there a statute of limitations on harmless teen pranks? This happened a decade ago. When I tell my parents about stupid stuff I did when I was young now, they either find funny it or disclose that they secretly knew about all along.
I admit we swore ourselves to secrecy at the time, but again, that was forever ago when we were dumb teens. AITA
I can't blame the groom for telling this story at his friend's engagement party. I would have done the same thing. (Maybe that's why none of my friends will let me near a microphone?) It would never occur to me that someone's Dad would still be mad at them for a dumb harmless joyride that happened 10 years ago. The groom and his dad really need to lighten up and laugh it off.
Reddit was really torn on this one. Half of the people think the groom did nothing wrong, and the other half think he should've carried his secret for life. What do you think?
From VoyagerVII
Soft YTA. If you promised him you wouldn't tell, then you owed it to him at least to check with him before springing it in a public setting with his dad as part of the company. You didn't mean any harm, but that wasn't very smart. You owe your friend an apology.
From SimbaOnSteroids
Yeah like they were teenagers, by definition untrustworthy dumbasses. NTA, Dad is acting juvenile.
From BarracudaGullible
Mild YTA, Ferris Bueller. Everyone's family dynamics are different so it's a bad idea to assume all parents have the same outlook as yours. Although I do agree your friend's Dad should let it goooo at this point.
From Thanatos_Zagerus
NTA and dad is AH for letting a stupid teenager (10 YEARS AGO) prank be a problem, she he has a right to be upset that it happened. But there’s no reason to make it a big deal… as long as like the car was fine and everything. If it was something more serious (like y’all broke his car and never told him then I could be on his side but seems like all was well🤷🏻♀️)
From AloneIndication
He's TA for telling the story. Where many parents would go 'WHAT?!? Well, it was 10 years ago, and no one got hurt so yeah, fine', it sounds like the friend's dad is looking at the friend differently and it could affect their relationship. Hopefully, he gets over it soon, but what if he doesn't?
People sometimes forget that just because they had good or easy-going parents doesn't mean everyone else does. You could argue that Dad's also TA, but that doesn't change the fact that OP should've picked something different.
From Ceecee_soup
I’m with you, I love telling my parents about teenage shenanigans that I got away with back in the day, and they’ll tell me their stories too. Maybe it is just a family dynamic thing. 10 years ago and no damages? What is he even mad about? NTA
From Caribe92
YTA. You didn’t have anything to lose but your friend did, therefore it was his story to tell, not yours.
From Sammond11
NTA most families have a statute of limitations. How could you know there wasn’t one? Why is he holding y’all up for something y’all did a decade ago? They’re all upset for nothing.
From Individual-Ebb-6797
YTA. There are secrets from 10 years ago that I wouldn’t want my parents to know either.
NTA, his dad sounds like a stick in the mud.
From SydlynsMagic
YTA. DUDE, my kids are 21 and almost 23. They've begun telling me the stupid shit they did as teens. My entire perception of my children growing up is forever damaged lmao. I told them 'Don't tell me anything else. I don't want to know. Take it to your grave. Let me have my blissful ignorance' 😂. Some things should just stay secret Eric. You dumb a**. 😂😂😂
OP added an update:
I wanna share this with you guys because it's really funny. I texted my friend's dad and apologized about the car, saying it was completely my idea and that I exaggerated his role in the story to amuse his fiancee. His response? Only copy-paste can do it justice....
'[Redacted], your actions have no bearing on how I feel about the event. I am disappointed in my son because I have always expected great things from him. I have never had expectations for you, and so you cannot fail to meet them. You owe me four dollars for gas.'
Fun guy.