Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty
Erica Mena and her “fiancé” Safaree Samuels have been engaged in one of the most confusing Internet breakups/makeups in reality star history. Samuels surprised fans when he proposed to Mena in December, and since then the two have inundated social media with their matching outfits and PDA.
But their love story came to a head last week when Samuels was accused of cheating on Mena with Love & Hip Hop: Miami star Gabrielle Davis. Over the weekend, Erica hinted at a breakup as she threw shattered roses all over her apartment.
Now, it appears the two have made up, and the bride-to-be is back to blissful wedding planning. As the 31-year-old preps for her Jamaican/Spanish nuptials, she took to Twitter to declare that nobody can have plus ones unless they are engaged or married.
“No plus ones if you not married or engaged! These plates are expensive. Sorry in advance to my guest but I feel that’s fair. What y’all think?” she asked her millions of followers.
The average cost of an American wedding is $30,000, so the idea of being frugal when it comes to your wedding budget is understandable, to say the least. But the whole idea of not letting unmarried or unengaged people have a plus one comes across as single shaming. Now, I can see this argument have validity if your guest is inviting an outright stranger. The per plate cost at wedding receptions is wildly expensive, so it makes sense that the bride and groom wouldn’t want to feed a stranger. But let’s be honest–just because someone is a “spouse” doesn’t mean they are familiar enough with the bride and groom to be considered a friend, let alone an acquaintance. From that perspective, all these plus ones are strangers, unless the couple knows both the husband and wife personally and invites them as a pair.
Even though weddings are about the love between a bride and groom above all the guests, people are still taking PTO, spending money, and buying flights in order to spend this time with you. So if they are making that sacrifice on their end, it’s only fair for you to consider their needs as well, especially if that means just making sure there is a plate for their boyfriend/girlfriend of a few years.
Here’s how the internet reacted to her question:
