A woman sparked controversy after she revealed she was pregnant while toasting her father — at his own wedding reception.
Gabriella Morby, 32, of Birmingham, England, was giving a speech at her father's wedding reception after he married her new stepmother in July 2022 when she revealed that he was going to be a grandfather.
During her speech, she handed her dad a book from her childhood, saying that she "actually got you a little gift."
In the speech, she reminisced about how her father would read her stories from that book when he got 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 SWNS 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 inserted a sonogram inside the book revealing she was pregnant — and that her father was going to become a grandfather.
Given that Morby's father and new stepmother said they were thrilled at the announcement — saying "it completely made their day" — the young woman, who works as a tutor and content creator, then shared 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 SWNS.
"It was a really special moment as they had no idea I was going to announce that I was pregnant."
Morby noted that she and her husband had been trying to conceive a child for three months.
She also said her father told her he "couldn’t stop re-watching the video of the speech and announcement" after the wedding.
Online commenters, however, were far less than approving.
Many people called her "selfish" — and even accused her of having "main character syndrome" by trying to take the focus away from the bride and groom on their big day.
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"Being called ‘selfish’ online was quite hurtful as my decision to announce my pregnancy was to make my dad and stepmom even more happy on their special day," said Morby, according to SWNS.
"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."
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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."
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Morby and her husband had their son, George, in January 2023.
