People Share Their Experiences When They Had The 'Worst Birthday' Ever

I think we all have had at least one birthday in our lives that just downright sucked, but these thirteen people certainly take the cake for the worst birthday situations.

I'm sure most of us can recall birthdays from our childhood.

Happy times, and for some, maybe even the best day of their entire year. But as we age, they become less and less enjoyable to celebrate.

Fortunately for some, they have extraordinary people in their lives who go above and beyond for them.

Unfortunately for others, they have people who set out to downright destroy their special day. These unfortunate individuals have experienced just that.

13. Oh so young yet!

"Worst birthday was my 23rd.

I invited a small circle of friends to spend some time at my apartment with food, cake, and drinks. Later on, we would make a local pub tour.

One friend arrived with some booze as a present. The two of us spent most of the time alone because only three hours later did the other invited guests arrive. The later guests were all drunk—really drunk—but they were all close friends of mine. Nevertheless, all the drunks did was eat the cake and vomit in the bathroom. After they were done with their exorcism, they left due to their conditions.

I was left with two friends whom I had invited to an all-you-can-drink-for-free local pub tour."

12. Oh no no no!

"My birthday is on Valentine’s Day.

The day before my 23rd birthday, my (now ex) boyfriend of five years gave me this hideous Swarovski necklace and then dumped me. I was a server at the time and spent my actual birthday trying not to cry my eyes out or slobber into everyone’s food as I spent my night serving lovey-dovey couples.

I threw the necklace in the trash. (I would have sold it, but it was going for less than store value on eBay and Amazon.)"

11. Ah sh!t!

"My family paid for me and my girlfriend at the time to go out for a really expensive meal for my 21st birthday.

The entire meal came to $300.

She broke up with me as I was driving her back home."

10. One of your last milestones ruined?!

"On my 21st birthday, a family friend who is an elderly lady invited me and my family to dinner with her and her family because, according to the Lunar calendar, her birthday was on the same day as mine.

Her family and my parents can all speak Cantonese. I cannot.

They decided to go to a seafood restaurant. I am allergic to most seafood. I spent my 21st birthday sitting at a table full of people, not saying anything and not eating anything because I couldn’t do either."

9. You felt the sting of that one!

"I got extremely sunburnt on my back and shoulders at a water park a few days before my 5th (I think) birthday party.

I spent my party face down on a leather sofa, crying my eyes out and sulking as roughly 20+ kids ran around in my garden enjoying a water fight party."

8. It's a holly jolly birthday....

"It was my 30th birthday, and my wife and I were going to be house and dog sitting for my father the next day. My father and his wife were flying out the next morning at 6 a.m., so the birthday celebrations were just a quiet dinner out, then early to bed. At around 4 p.m., my dad’s wife canceled dinner, but we still went over so I could have a look at the new hot water heater, as it had been acting up.

My birthday is a week before Christmas, so we also brought over some gifts for family members we don’t see often. This caused my dad’s wife to flip out and start arguing with my wife. It turns out she had been drinking since around noon and was starting fights with everyone she came into contact with. This continued for a good half hour while my father and I looked on, dumbfounded.

So we sheepishly went home. At that point, I really just wanted to get super drunk and pass out, but I didn’t because I love my father and will not knowingly disappoint him because of something his wife does. My wife was rather upset too, and we went to bed sober, and there was no birthday sex. I still drove them to the airport the next morning, and my dad’s wife acted like nothing happened.

So, really, it was a first-world problem worst birthday and could have been much worse. I haven’t made plans on my birthday since then, and I see it as any other day."

7. I think this is everyone's worst fear when planning a surprise party.

"For my ninth birthday, my mom planned a surprise party for me. All of my friends would be waiting at my house after I got home from school, and we were going to have a great time.

Nobody showed up. Every parent kept their kid home. I ate cake with my family alone until one family friend showed up.

I was born on September 11, 1992.

As a bonus, I came into school wearing a huge smile, completely unaware of what was going on.

There was also my seventh birthday, where my dad spilled an entire pitcher of tea on my pants at Joe’s Crab Shack, and I sat and cried while they brought me cake.

Also, the day before I turned 17, I found out my grandpa’s cancer had come back with a vengeance and he was terminal."

6. I couldn't even imagine!

"My best friend’s brother died suddenly. She asked me to throw a party to help her forget about it, and she was thankful, though I felt terrible about it. She shared a room with him, so she stayed with me for three nights, and I had to hold her as she cried. After she left, I took down all my birthday cards and refused to open any presents. After the weekend, someone had a go at me for being selfish. It was pretty bad."

5. Why so many 21sts?!?!

"For my 21st birthday, the week leading up to it, my (now ex) boyfriend had been ignoring me—typical stuff. So the day comes, and we take a boat ride (not my idea, but hey, who cares, it’s only my birthday). Naturally, after that, we end up at the bars, working our way back home, and surely enough, I’m drunk off my butt by the time we get there.

Seeing this, he decides that now would be a good time to pick a huge argument with me in the middle of the bar, followed by a dramatic exit so he could smoke a cigarette, or so I assumed. It wasn’t until I realized it had been about 20 minutes that I walked outside to find he had left me there.

Yeah. That one definitely takes the cake for me."

4. My face...I wish you could see my face right now.

"For my fifteenth birthday, I was on holiday with my biological dad and stepmom, who despised me and my sister. My dad wished me a happy birthday and asked me what I would like to do. Before I could answer, my stepmother insisted she needed a new pair of shoes.

I spent my fifteenth birthday sitting quietly in the corner of a shoe shop while somebody who hated me and wanted to alienate me from my father tried on endless pairs of shoes that he would buy for her."

3. Maybe surprise parties are just a terrible idea? No? Probably.

"My 18th birthday was intended to be a huge surprise, one that had been planned by my sister, mother, and grandmother for weeks. Everything was perfectly set, down to the last detail. The eve of my birthday, my half-sister, during our family dinner, explained to me in great detail everything that was planned for my birthday, as if I was supposed to know. The worst part was, she continued to talk over my family members as they tried to shut her up. A family fight erupted, leaving my mother and sister crying over their failed surprise.

The icing on the cake: On my actual birthday, said half-sister shows up three hours late to the party, after all the “surprise” is over. Then, as I’m opening presents, she decides it’s best to share how she had found a pair of a young girl’s underwear in a sketchy alleyway near her work and how “she can only imagine the worst.” The uncomfortable vibe couldn’t be broken after that, and the party quickly died down."

2. So selfish..

"On my 9th birthday, my mom took me and six girls from my class to the cinema.

About ten minutes into the movie, she said, “Gonna go get another Coke, you guys want anything?” We said, “No thanks, we’re fine.” She doesn’t come back. The movie ends, and I can’t find her in the lobby, the bathrooms, outside—anywhere. It’s dark, I’m miles from home with no way of contacting anyone, and my friends and I are all really scared. I ended up going into a toy shop beside the cinema, crying my eyes out, and asked the manager to please help me. He called the guards (Irish cops), and my friends and I got taken back to my house in two squad cars. My stepdad was absolutely horrified to see us coming home like that. I was really upset and in no mood to celebrate; we did the cake and presents routine, and my friends’ parents picked them up soon after. My mom eventually showed up later that night, drunk.

I didn’t even bother yelling at her; it was a familiar situation, and I knew there was no point. I cried myself to sleep that night. Then Monday arrived, and the girls had told everyone in our class what had happened, and nobody would talk to me. All their parents found out as well; nobody was allowed to come to my house anymore, and I didn’t get invited anywhere either.

It remained that way for the next three years of primary school."

1. My heart. Oh my gosh! Worst birthday imaginable.

"On my 21st birthday, I received an email that would change my life forever. I still remember the day quite clearly. I was living in Japan at the time, and I was sitting at the bar having lunch when my phone dinged to let me know I had a message. It was an email from the DNA testing company with the results of my DNA test between myself and my son. They were a 99.999999999999999997% match. I was ecstatic, but the joy was fleeting.

I called my then ex-girlfriend to deliver the news. I remember being so happy dialing that number. She answered, listened to what I had to say, then proceeded to tell me that it didn’t matter. She doesn’t like who I am, she doesn’t like what I do for a living, and she doesn’t think I’d make a good father. I was taken aback; I thought she was kidding and tried to laugh it off, but she solidified it all by hanging up the phone. I’d never known a feeling so painful. I imagine being shot hurts less than the words I had heard in that call.

I fought the good fight from then on, but I never talked to her again. Legal counsel recommended I try not to take her to court for custody because she would win (I have no support network, I live in a foreign nation, etc.). I used to follow her on Facebook and look at pictures of him, but after they started using timelines, all her stuff became private. I’ve never even met him."

What year was your worst birthday?

Let us know in the comments.