Sumith Prasad
Directed by Gaz Alazraki, HBO Max’s romantic film ‘Father of the Bride’ centers around Miami-based architect Guillermo “Billy” Herrera and his wife Ingrid Herrera, who undergo couples therapy due to their troubled marriage. As the therapy sessions fail to bring any changes in their relationship, Ingrid decides to end their togetherness with a divorce. However, they get forced to wait until the marriage of their daughter Sofia Herrera and Adán Castillo. Since the fascinating film ends without an obvious answer concerning Billy and Ingrid’s fate as a married couple, the viewers must be wondering whether they are getting divorced. Well, let us share our thoughts! SPOILERS AHEAD.
What Happens Between Billy and Ingrid?
Billy Herrera is one of the most renowned architects in the state of Florida. As someone who was exiled from Cuba to the United States at a very young age, Billy had to work hard to find a footing in the country. Before he became anything, he married Ingrid. With his determination and resilience, Billy eventually became an architect and his mastery made him a famed one as well. Since Billy owes his prosperity and reputation to his career as an architect, he never compromises on his work. But his workaholism started to create tensions in his married life with Ingrid.
After attaining financial independence, Ingrid wants Billy to not immerse in his work. She wants the presence of her husband and demands quality time with him. She also longs for a vacation in Greece where Billy can spend his time with her without any work-related commitments. But Billy fails to understand the intentions behind Ingrid’s demands. He continues to prioritize his work over his wife, increasing the tensions. Even while attending therapy sessions, Billy doesn’t put an effort to change and save his marriage but chooses to fight with Ingrid. After trying and compromising enough, Ingrid decides that a divorce from Billy is essential.
Billy, who doesn’t want to separate from Ingrid, becomes helpless when she demands a divorce. But before they could reveal the news about their potential divorce to their family, Sofia tells her parents that she is engaged to Adán and they want to marry in two months. To not kill the joy of their daughter, Billy and Ingrid decide to postpone getting divorced until the wedding.
Father of the Bride Ending: Do Billy and Ingrid Get Divorced?
Even when Billy makes it clear that he isn’t open to change, he insists on not moving forward with a divorce. He tries to buy more time to process Ingrid’s decision to part ways and Sofia’s wedding turns out to be a perfect excuse. Ingrid, without any other options, decides to wait until Sofia spends her honeymoon after her wedding. However, Sofia’s decision to marry Adán further complicates Billy’s life. He finds it hard to let her daughter marry someone who doesn’t make enough money to provide for his wife.
Even when Billy comes to know that Adán is from a rich family, he doesn’t get convinced that he is the right person to be his son-in-law. His opposition leads Sofia to make it clear to him that he is just the father of the bride, who doesn’t have any authority to choose the groom for her. She even tells him that he can choose to not attend the wedding if he has any problem with her marrying Adán. Sofia’s words make Billy realizes that he is the problem, not in just Sofia’s case but also in Ingrid’s.
Billy’s arrogance vanishes away and he starts to think about where he has failed as a husband. He finds the answer from Adán when he lets him know that he is moving to Mexico for the sake of Sofia and not the other way around. Billy initially doesn’t understand why Adán, who has a great career in New York, wants to compromise on the same and work in a non-profit organization just because his future wife wants it. Adán adds to Billy that his future is not in New York but with Sofia, wherever she is. Billy realizes that he has never prioritized a future with Ingrid like Adán prioritizes a future with Sofia.
The realization changes Billy. He becomes more considerate and supports Sofia and Ingrid better. During the wedding, he invites Ingrid to walk down the aisle with him and Sofia. At the wedding reception, he seeks pardon from everyone for the mistakes he has done. Ingrid sees a changed man who isn’t enveloped in arrogance. During the dance after the wedding, Billy proposes a trip to Greece to fulfill Ingrid’s wish and Ingrid lets him kiss her after a long while. She gets surprised to see a sweet and humble version of her husband.
At the end of the film, Ingrid doesn’t reveal her decision concerning the divorce to Billy. But the changes in him certainly affect her and she becomes illuminated to see her husband understanding and acting upon her wishes and feelings. She gets what she has been demanding for a long while, which may influence her to continue sharing her life with him. Ingrid doesn’t have any other reasons to keep Billy apart from her life. She may realize that Billy has changed to be with her and that may turn out to be enough for Ingrid to not think about attaining a divorce from him.
