Ask John: “My father wants to bring his porn star girlfriend to my wedding”

Dear John,

Next month I’m getting married. I’m obviously very excited about it. I’d be a lot more excited about it, though, if my father didn’t want to bring, to the most special day of my whole life, his porn star girlfriend.

My parents got divorced five years ago, between my graduating high school and starting college. My dad started dating “Brandi” about six months ago.

When my brother D. informed me that dad’s new girlfriend is a porn star, I didn’t believe him. But it only took D. about five seconds on his laptop to prove that she definitely was. 

When I confronted my dad about her, he said that that part of Brandi’s life ended over 10 years ago. He said he loves her and that the two of them have grown so close that he really wants her to be with him at my wedding.
I couldn’t care less how long ago Brandi stopped making her disgusting “movies.” She made a ton of them; they’re are all over the Internet; and if my perv brother recognized her, other people probably will too. My fiancé’s family are all conservative Christians. What if one of them found out who she was? I think I would just die of mortification.

I love my father. But I also don’t want a porno star, former or otherwise, at my wedding or reception. What should I do?

I think you should thoughtfully consider the difference between “makes porn” and “hasn’t made porn in over 10 years.” Ten years is a long time.
Do you know why Brandi quit the business, or how she feels about her time in it? If not, then you don’t know her. And if you don’t know her, how can you judge her?

Women work in the sex industry for all kinds of reasons. Some of those reasons are pitiable.

If Brandi’s life in porn was an extension of her suffering, do you really want to be the person so lacking in compassion and understanding that you’re capable only of adding to her suffering by condemning and maligning her?

Of course you don’t. So spend a little time between now and your wedding day getting to know Brandi. You might like her. You might not. But at least find out before you force your father into making the awful choice between missing his daughter’s wedding and telling the woman he loves that she’s been judged too deplorable a person to be welcomed at that wedding. 

Look: The world is full of all kinds of people. Some are good, some are bad, most are both, some make porn. The whole key is to love everyone. Life’s just too short to spend it deciding who does and doesn’t deserve your affection. Assume that everyone deserves it, and give it freely. Why not? A hug costs no more than a snub. And unlike a snub, a hug can save someone’s life.

(And don’t worry about your fiancé’s family. There’s only one way for any of them to know a porn star when they see one. And that way guarantees they’ll keep that knowledge to themselves.)

Send your question to AskJohnShore@gmail.com—or use our Contact form. (Letters may be edited for brevity or clarity, and will be published anonymously.)

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My novel, Everywhere She's Not, is now available wherever books are sold.

It’s not easy to tell a story that is filled with hilarious humor, the pangs of love lost, excruciatingly sad family life and deep, deep inner circumspection that ultimately uplifts your soul, but John has done just that. I highly recommend you read this book; you will thank me later. — Jon Mayes, Advance Reading Copy.

Deeply engrossing . . . a hightly satisfying reading experience . . . Shore's writing is so stylistically on target that the language itself falls away, allowing the reader to enter into the subtleties of the story completely. . . . Shore’s protagonist is authentically funny and rawly sympathetic . . . This novel stands apart for its originality. It is a testament to the notion that the strongest works are often those with simple storylines, exceptionally told. 10 out of 10. — Publisher's Weekly BookLife Prize 2019

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