Mum devastated that no one came to her 'gender reveal' party

18 June 2018, 11:09 | Updated: 18 June 2018, 11:39

The single mum to be was left in tears after being let down by her close friends.

There has been a huge rise in the 'gender reveal' party trend.

More and more expectant mothers are revealing the gender of their babies in increasingly extravagant ways using cakes, balloons and fancy videos.

It's now become almost normal that if you're pregnant, you're probably going to host a gender reveal party but this mother who did just that found her friends to be less than supportive.

Taking to NetMums to reveal her upset she explained: "So I’m 20 and I’m 17 weeks, I hosted a gender reveal at the weekend and was expecting around 11 guests (after cancellations), it was only at my house and I invited people that I feel genuinely close to. 

"It got to the starting time (3pm) and my friend who helped me prep and clean my house were eagerly waiting for people to show, at 3.30 my other friend who already knows the gender (so both of them knew already) arrived as her bus was late.

"Time kept ticking so I texted my close friend asking when she was due, no reply.

"It got to four and no one had arrived still. I spent the last of my money for the month on arranging this party, getting decorations and food and put on a full on mini buffet, and not one of the 10 people told me until 3/4/5pm that they couldn’t make it. 

Gender reveal parties have proved controversial | Picture: Getty

"Two of my ‘friends’ showed up at 5 after I’d spent an hour crying, and then messaged me complaining I never said thank you for the cake they’d made (I said plenty of other nice things about it just forgot to say thank you as I was distressed).

"It ended up being a gathering where all of the people except me were drinking and we watched TV. 

"The girl who didn’t text me back until 4 saying 'I can come now' by which point I was so upset I told her not to bother.

"This person has no job, (and she’s pregnant herself so surely she would understand how important this is to me?) even started arguing with me for being upset saying 'I offered to come so don’t paint me with the same brush' and that I shouldn’t expect people to 'turn up on the dot'. 

"I don’t have any family support and I was relying on my friends and felt completely heartbroken. Am I wrong to be so bothered by it? 

"I genuinely want to cut everyone who didn’t bother off even if they’ve messaged me since, I feel like if they can’t put aside two hours of time to celebrate my baby why should they have the liberty of calling themselves 'auntie' or 'uncle' despite clearly no support from them. 

"I’m still shook over it, my support network is literally at 3 people! I feel so isolated as I’m going to be a single mum and I have no one."

The heartbreaking story struck a chord with many other users of the site who said "Those people who were rude enough to accept an invitation and then not turn up are not your friends and I would suggest not wasting any more time (or money) on them."

Another remarked: "Stick with the two that were there and helped you set up the party. Unfortunately at times like this you find out who your friends are!"

However not all the comments were sympathetic and branded the entire 'gender reveal' idea as 'daft' and 'ridiculous'.

The issue of whether 'gender reveal' parties are necessary on top of baby showers and all the other expenses that having a baby bring with it is proving to be divisive.

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