Aussie mum’s fury after her baby daddy attended his friend’s wedding instead of his daughter’s first birthday: ‘Am I overreacting?’

Domenica Calarco has vented her frustration after her baby daddy missed his daughter’s first birthday party to attend his best friend’s wedding as a groomsman.

The single mum organised the ‘most magical day’ enjoying a ‘birthday extravaganza’ with her one-year-old daughter Dove over the weekend. 

The former MAFS star has been co-parenting with her ex-boyfriend Jarod after the couple quietly split shortly before their daughter was born on August 28, 2025.

Despite her birthday being on Friday, the mum threw an epic birthday party for Dove on Sunday, surrounded by loved ones, while her dad was a groomsman at a wedding.

‘The father of my child decided to be a groomsman for a friend, rather than spend the day with his daughter on her first birthday,’ Domenica said. 

‘He’s decided to choose friends over his firstborn daughter and her first birthday, and I just cannot get my head around it.

‘I am so disappointed. I am disappointed for my daughter, but also for what the day could have been.’

Domenica said she had ‘envisioned’ a ‘beautiful day’ as a ‘family’ taking their baby daughter to the zoo or aquarium. 

‘Even though we aren’t together, that is what co-parenting is, it’s creating memories for our child, even though we aren’t together,’ she explained. 

‘He’s known for months that this wedding had been on, he agreed to be a groomsman months ago, all well knowing that this was her first birthday, for months and months and months.

‘Am I being overdramatic about this and should I not be disappointed? Or is this actually as bad as what it feels to me because I’m really disappointed. 

‘I just don’t understand it. I just I don’t understand what is going through this guy’s head.’

The mum said if the tables were turned, she would have been criticised. 

‘All I can think about is imagine if that was me,’ she explained. 

‘If I was the one that accepted to be a bridesmaid in a wedding on my daughter’s first birthday, I would never hear the end of it. It’s ridiculous.’

Domenica later shared an update saying her ex ‘spent a short amount of time’ with their daughter on the morning of her ‘actual birthday’ before going away for his friend’s wedding.

After venting her disappointment, many sided with her ex, saying their baby daughter ‘won’t remember’ her dad being absent from her first birthday.

‘It was just me venting about being disappointed about the father of my child and that he had chosen to be a groomsman and go to a wedding,’ Domenica said in a follow-up video.

‘I personally think that what he did was wrong, I have voiced that to him.

‘I do believe that people can have an opinion, but at the end of the day, when push comes to shove, if you were in that situation and you had to be in my position where the father of your child or the mother of your child chose to go and do that on your baby’s first birthday, I think your reaction would be very different.’

Her views have divided the internet, with many suggesting the mum’s ‘feelings are valid’ about her ex missing their daughter’s first birthday party. 

‘People saying you’re overreacting is a joke. When you become a parent, that child becomes your number one priority. He should’ve 100 per cent chosen his daughter’s first birthday over being a groomsman. I would also be disappointed,’ one said.

‘A wedding is not more important than your child’s birthday and it’s actually so sad at the amount of people who think it is,’ another suggested. 

‘She has every right to expect the father to prioritise his daughter’s first birthday. It’s weird he would rather be at a wedding. Surely he can do both! And yes, she won’t remember it, but she will see the photos,’ one explained. 

‘You are getting so much heat over this. There’s no way my husband would miss his daughter’s first birthday to be a groomsman. Yes she will have other birthdays but she only has ONE FIRST BIRTHDAY. You’re doing amazing,’ another added.

However, not everyone agreed, with many suggesting the mum was ‘overreacting’. 

‘Girlfriend, if you know she won’t remember it… Why are you getting mad at her father for missing it for a wedding?!’ one asked. 

‘I think you’re mourning the family you thought you were going to have. You have to accept that right now, that’s not happening. You don’t get the perfect family moments when co-parenting. It’s fractured, but you get through it,’ another shared. 

‘If my husband was asked to be in the wedding party, I’d be encouraging him to go. We had to celebrate my son’s first birthday the day before due to a funeral on his actual birthday. It hasn’t affected him in any way at all. It was still celebrated – that’s the main thing and it didn’t matter about the exact date,’ one added.

Last year, Domenica exclusively confirmed to Daily Mail she was raising her daughter as a single mum.

‘I am incredibly excited about this next chapter in my life and feel truly empowered by my decision to step into motherhood on my own terms,’ she said.

‘While I will be welcoming this baby as a solo parent, I am grateful to have the support of the father in a co-parenting capacity.’