A photo shared on LinkedIn by the founder of a startup based in the U.S. was described as “one of the saddest posts” ever made on the platform, provoking hundreds of negative comments.

The post was made by Torrey Leonard, co-owner of the artificial intelligence company Thoughtly, who praised his partner Casey Mackrell for using his laptop at his own wedding to fulfill a professional obligation.

Thoughtly co-founder Casey Mackrell worked on a code issue during his wedding, sparking a viral post. Despite debate over work-life balance, the incident was not as severe as originally portrayed. pic.twitter.com/jyCFhRGkox

— Tech In 60 Mins (@TechIn60Mins) October 10, 2024

As Leonard stated in his initial post, their company had just started a collaboration with a client who wanted their project completed within two weeks. Therefore, Mackrell decided to sacrifice a little time from his wedding to address a problem that arose and avoid wasting valuable time.

The photo shows Mackrell, dressed in his wedding suit, working on his laptop while the guests are dancing at the wedding reception.

The post quickly went viral, sparking strong reactions, with many describing it as “sad” and “inappropriate.” Some even commented that this image of the workaholic groom could be grounds for divorce.

In an interview with news.com.au, Leonard defended his partner’s decision, explaining that this project was important and that the nature of their work often requires exhausting hours from both of them.

According to him, on the day of his partner’s wedding, a problem arose that only the groom could solve, and he didn’t spend more than 5 minutes dealing with it during the reception.