Celebrity Family Members Who Skipped Their Kids' Weddings
It's common for things to go wrong at weddings. For example, it might start pouring rain during an outdoor ceremony, a wedding vendor may arrive late, someone could get a little too drunk during the reception, or the bride may have ditched it altogether because of cold feet! Whatever the case may be, we've heard all too many stories about the unlucky events that go down at weddings.
Though a wedding day can be stressful for the bride and groom, the planning beforehand can be just as torturous, with one of the most challenging tasks being the guest list. Usually, family comes first. But as the many celebrity wedding stories below prove, in some cases only a few family members make the cut. In fact, several stars have excluded their parents and siblings from celebrating their big day. Whether it's big family feuds, estrangement, or the bride and groom simply deciding to have a low-key ceremony, there have been many reasons why these celebrity family members didn't attend their kids' weddings.
Meghan Markle's father staged paparazzi photos
Meghan Markle's family drama is well-known to the public. Before the former "Suits" star wed Prince Harry in May 2018, Kensington Palace announced that Markle would have her father, Thomas Markle, walk her down the aisle. However, that all changed when the Daily Mail revealed that her father had conspired with the paparazzi to stage photos of himself despite the palace asking the media to leave him alone. TMZ reported that days before the wedding, Thomas had suffered a heart attack and underwent heart surgery, and it was confirmed that he would no longer be walking his daughter down the aisle. In fact, Thomas did not attend the wedding.
Besides her mom, Doria Ragland, nobody from Meghan's family attended the royal wedding, including her estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, and half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr. Before the big day, Samantha claimed on Twitter that she had been working on a tell-all book about her half-sister. However, a source told E! News that she and Meghan had never had a close relationship. Indeed, just months earlier, Prince Harry had said of the royal family, "It's the family that I suppose [Meghan's] never had," to Today.
As for Meghan's half-brother, he took it upon himself to write a letter to the Duke of Sussex, which InTouch published. He claimed his father never received an invitation and added about his half-sister's ceremony, "This is the biggest mistake in royal wedding history." King Charles III walked Meghan down the aisle.
Serena Williams' dad refused to walk her down the aisle
Tennis star Serena Williams had what other brides would consider a distressing situation on her hands when her father, Richard Williams, decided not to walk her down the aisle just an hour before the ceremony. In her 2018 HBO documentary, "Being Serena" (via People), she revealed how she reacted to the text she received from her dad and how she handled it like a pro. "He was in New Orleans, he had the suit, and I know he was really excited. But then he wrote me and said, 'Serena, I don't want you to be mad at me, but I just can't walk you down the aisle. I'm not myself anymore. I'm too nervous,'" the tennis star shared.
However, instead of panicking about the situation, Serena shared that she understood her father's perspective and told him he didn't have to attend her wedding. "Maybe a lot of daughters wouldn't react the same way, but I know the struggles he's had these last few years. His health is better now, but I know he still doesn't feel like himself, doesn't feel like he's perfect," she added. Richard has had various health issues since experiencing a stroke in 2016.
Additionally, his much-publicized split from his wife Lakeisha Williams a year earlier may have also been a factor in his decision to take a step back from his daughter's extravagant wedding.
Mathew Knowles was not seen at Solange's wedding
Solange Knowles walked down the aisle for the second time when she married music video director Alan Ferguson in November 2014. The "Cranes in the Sky" songstress and her soon-to-be husband arrived at their wedding ceremony in New Orleans riding white bicycles. The guests were also asked to come dressed in white, with her big sister Beyoncé attending with her husband Jay Z, and their daughter Blue Ivy. Beyoncé and Solange's mom, Tina Knowles, was also at the festivities. However, Matthew Knowles was nowhere to be seen.
As a matter of fact, both singers decided not to attend their father's 2013 wedding to his second wife, Gena Avery. Mathew told TMZ, "Unfortunately, Beyonce and Solange had previous engagements which made it impossible for them to attend."
In a 2020 interview with Billboard, Solange revealed that her relationship with her father had been strained. "It's still very much a work in progress," she reflected. The pair reconnected while making her 2016 Grammy award-winning album "A Seat at the Table." In 2019, Solange confirmed that she and Ferguson had split. The "Cranes in the Sky" songstress was previously married to her high school sweetheart Daniel Smith, with the pair getting hitched when they were teenagers. However, they divorced in 2007 with the couple co-parenting their son, Daniel Julez.
Usher's mom may not have approved of his bride
R&B singer Usher had planned to wed celebrity stylist Tameka Foster in a grand wedding in the Hamptons in July 2007. However, the couple settled on getting hitched at the office of the singer's lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, the following month. A source alleged to People, "Some people didn't know about [the civil wedding] until a day later. But that's Usher and Tameka for you. One thing one day and a whole other thing the next." Did the change in wedding plans have something to do with Usher's mom and manager at the time, Jonetta Patton? She was reportedly enjoying a spa day during her son's civil ceremony. Allegations also arose that Patton and Foster did not have the best relationship.
Less than two years later, Usher and Foster ended up divorcing. In her memoir, "Here I Stand" (via Page Six) she alleged that her ex-husband's mom had convinced him that Foster was five years older than she'd said she was, prompting Usher to call off the original wedding plans — Foster is eight years older than him, not 13. In her book, the former celebrity stylist also mentioned that the negative press surrounding their marriage was a factor in their 2009 split. Usher split with his mother as a manager in 2007 and again in 2008.
Caitlyn Jenner was a no-show at Brody Jenner's wedding
Brody Jenner was labeled the party-boy bachelor when he appeared on MTV's "The Hills." However, he seemed to change his ways when he and his girlfriend, Kaitlynn Carter, announced their engagement in 2016. Two years later, they were wed in Indonesia, with Jenner's mother, Linda Thompson, and brother, Brandon Jenner, in attendance. Meanwhile, Brody's other parent, Olympic medalist Caitlyn Jenner, couldn't attend her son's wedding.
According to People, Caitlyn had decided to skip her son's nuptials because of work commitments. Though a source alleged that Brody and Caitlynn were on good terms, the reality star later shared on an episode of "The Hills: New Beginnings" (via People) that he was heartbroken that his father didn't come. While speaking to his mother and brother, Brody shared, "Honestly, it really hurt, and I would have loved to have had her there. But she had better things to do. Apparently." In that episode, the star also revealed that he and Caitlynn's relationship had always been strained. Brody also revealed that his half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, were invited but were also no-shows.
Sadly, his marriage to Carter ended the following year. Us Weekly reported that the former couple didn't have to go through any divorce filings as they never obtained a marriage license in the U.S.
Caitlyn wasn't invited to Kourtney Kardashian's wedding
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker exchanged vows for the third time in a lavish wedding in Portofino, Italy, in May 2022. The couple had previously wed for the first time in a Las Vegas chapel in April and said their I Do's for the second time when they stepped out of a Santa Barbara courthouse in May.
So, who was there to celebrate the newlyweds at their Italian wedding? According to Elle, sisters Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney's half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and their mom, Kris Jenner, were at the event. The reality star had all three of her children, whom she shares with Scott Disick, present, while it also looked like Kylie's daughter Stormi was there, too. As for the Blink-182 drummer, his two children, Alabama and Landon, whom he shares with his ex-wife Shanna Moakler, were also celebrating the couple. Rocker Machine Gun Kelly and his fiance, Megan Fox, also made the guest list, as did Kendall's now ex, Devin Booker. However, where was Caitlyn Jenner? The Olympic athlete was married to Kris for a whopping 22 years before they separated in 2013.
TMZ reported that Caitlyn was simply not invited as she and Kourtney no longer had the same relationship they once shared. While addressing students at the Cambridge Union in Britain in 2017 (via Cambridgeshire Live), she revealed she was no longer close to the Kardashians. "They don't want me in their lives, they bashed me pretty badly," she said. "It's devastating when your kids do that. It really hurt."
Gucci Mane left his mom out of his million-dollar wedding
Rapper Gucci Mane, whose real name is Radric Davis, married Keyshia Ka'oir in an estimated $1.7 million wedding in Miami, Florida, in October 2017. From a diamond-encrusted bouquet to the rapper's diamond-studded bow tie, the wedding was hailed as the event of the year. However, two people were cut from the couple's guest list: Gucci Mane's mother, Vicky Jean Davis, and his younger brother, Nate Davis.
Although the rapper excluded his mother and Nate from his wedding, his other brother, Duke, stood at the altar as the rapper's best man. In an interview with TMZ, Nate shared that he was happy for his brother but was clueless about why they did not receive invitations. "I feel real bad Ray didn't invite me to his wedding. I really wanted to be there for him," he said. "Just [from] a brother's standpoint and just to support [him], guide [him], however [he] need me to — just as a brother." He ended his statement with what seemed like a warning to the rapper's wife, "A man that don't care for his mother — how can he care for you?"
Kobe Bryant's challenging relationship with his parents
The late basketball star Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa Bryant, had a long history together. The two first met on the set of his music video (yes, you read that right) in 1999 when the Los Angeles Lakers player was twenty years old and Vanessa was seventeen. Recalling that day in the documentary, "Kobe Bryant's Muse," he revealed (via People), "On the video set is where I first met Vanessa. It was a two-day video shoot, and I was always looking for her like I wanted to know where she was. I would finish a take and go to my trailer, but I would wonder where she was the entire time." Then, when Vanessa turned 18, the couple got engaged.
Kobe and Vanessa married in April 2001. However, the basketball legend's parents, Joe and Pam Bryant chose not to attend. In 2003, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Kobe's parents were allegedly not accepting of their son getting married to Vanessa because she was Latina and not African American. It resulted in Kobe not speaking to his parents for two years.
Still, Kobe had experienced a difficult relationship with his parents for years for other reasons besides who he wed. In 2016, his former coach, Wayne Slappy, told the Daily Mail that Kobe appeared to mend his relationship with his father. However, Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, would tragically die in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
Britney Spears' wedding included a bunch of celebrities
Britney Spears married her long-time love Sam Asghari at her home in California in June 2022. The wedding was a star-studded event with a guest list that included Drew Barrymore, Madonna, Selena Gomez, Paris Hilton, and fashion designer Donatella Versace, who made Spears' wedding gown. Though the "Gimmie More" singers' two children, Sean and Jayden Federline, whom she shares with Kevin Federline, were not in attendance, her former husband said in a statement through his lawyer, per TMZ, "Kevin and the boys are happy for Britney and wish her and Sam all the best going forward."
To no one's surprise, Spears' parents, Lynn and Jamie Spears, and younger sister, Jamie Lynn, were not invited to her lavish wedding. Since early 2008, the singer had been under a conservatorship, which granted her father control over her finances and career decisions. In addition, it was revealed that Spears would even need approval on who she dated and how she designed her home. In 2021, her conservatorship was terminated. After that, her relationship with her parents and little sister became estranged.
Britney's mother commented her well-wishes on an Instagram post of her daughter on her wedding day, despite not being invited. "You look radiant and so happy! Your wedding is the 'Dream' wedding! And having it at your home makes it so sentimental special! I am so happy for you! I love you!" Lynn wrote.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise missed their daughter's wedding
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were once Hollywood's leading couple. The pair married in 1990 and were together for a little under 11 years until they separated in 2001. However, during their marriage, the A-list stars adopted two children — a son named Connor and a daughter named Isabella. Mike Rinder claimed in his memoir, "A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology" (via Us Weekly), that the split resulted from Cruise's devotion to the religion. He also alleged that top Scientology officers had conspired to end their union — however, the church denied their involvement in their split.
Though Kidman rarely speaks about her time as a member of the controversial church, she did tell The Hollywood Reporter during an interview in 2013 that her children were members. "I utterly respect their beliefs," she told the outlet. Was it a reason why Kidman did not attend or was not allowed at her daughter Isabella's 2015 wedding in London? According to the Daily Mail, Isabella had a Scientology ceremony and her famous mom was not allowed to attend because of the media attention she would have attracted. Cruise was also not there to celebrate his daughter's big day, but he reportedly paid for the wedding. There didn't seem to be any bad blood between mother and daughter as the outlet also reported that "The Others" actor had dinner with Isabella and her soon-to-be husband, Max Parker, the day before.
Jon Voight had no hard feelings about Angelina's wedding
Angelina Jolie's relationship with her famous father, Jon Voight, had been estranged for many years. The father and daughter had a falling out in 2002 and didn't speak for five years until Jolie's mother and Voight's ex-wife, Marcheline, died of breast cancer. By 2010, People reported that Voight and Jolie were seen together for the first time. It was also reported that Brad Pitt, who Jolie began to date in 2005, was also a big help in mending her relationship with her father.
However, Voight was not invited to his daughter's 2014 wedding to Pitt in France. TMZ reported that though he didn't get an invite, there were no hard feelings as he attended the Emmy Awards after being nominated for his role in "Ray Donovan." He later spoke with ITV's Good Morning Britain (via People), where he shared that he was delighted for the couple. "I'm very happy that I can now legitimately call him my son-in-law, this wonderful fellow who I love, and that they're very happy," Voight shared.
When the couple split in 2016, Voight appeared to be a very supportive father to Jolie. He told Us Weekly, "I'm rooting for them ... My heart is with everybody, and my daughter, certainly, and the children."