No matter how much care and planning a person puts into his or her wedding day, one thing cannot be predicted: the possibility of being left at the altar. Some brides and grooms get cold feet weeks or even months before their wedding, canceling it before their guests come in from all over the world to celebrate. Some, however, wait until crunch time. Some people wait until all of the guests have come and taken their seats before realizing that what they’re about to do is wrong.

If you’re wondering what drives a person to become a runaway groom, read on to find out why these nine grooms abandoned their spouses at the altar on their wedding days. 1. She wasn’t It. Man, it terrible to know this at the last minute, but just before the ceremony began, I was hit with a wave of realization that the person I was about to marry was not the right person for me. She simply wasn’t it.

I was settling. I knew weddings were pricey. However, divorce would be more expensive. It took me 15 minutes to discover this and then I ran out of the building. We never spoke again. — Clyde, 32.

2. I was seeing another woman. It was a dick move, but I had a gal on my side. Nothing major, however just before the wedding, the bride’s relative caught me kissing another female. I am not sure why the second person showed up at the motel. The cousin told me that I needed to notify the bride or she would. I declined and instead opted to leave and not marry. I’m not even talking to the other girl anymore, so I’m back at square one. — Bruce, 29.

3. Her father talked me out of it. The morning before the wedding, I went golfing with my groomsmen, my father, and her father. Her father sat me down and gave me one of those stern chats about how he would come after me if I did anything wrong with his daughter. He made me feel intimidated and nervous, so I freaked out a little. I blame him for talking me out of getting married. I didn’t marry her that day, or ever. — Gregg (30)

4. I Wasn’t Ready to Be Wifed Up. All of my guys were still single, and I was going to be the only one with a wife. It just felt like too much, too soon. I chose to back out. Yes, I pulled out at the last minute, approximately 12 hours before the wedding, but it wasn’t until I sat down and thought about it that I realized marriage was not for me. — Rob, 24

5. We got into a heated fight. She became enraged with me just before the wedding after discovering that I had lied about something. Something ridiculous, but something. She screamed at me, calling me a liar. I couldn’t handle it and knew that if this is how our wedding day goes, our life together will be a complete disaster. I chose to end the relationship. — Trevor, 28.

6. I was just stuck in traffic. The reality is that I did not intend to stand her up at the altar. I swear to that. What occurred was that I was delayed in traffic. I tried calling her, but she didn’t pick up. Everyone else I told did not believe me and assumed I was lying to get out of marrying her. Because no one believed me and I arrived an hour late, everyone assumed I was being shady. We married two years later, but first we had to go through a lot of trust issues. — Paul, 31

7. Money Was The Main Problem. I didn’t want a big wedding, nor did I want to spend $20,000 of our money to help pay for it. Her parents were already spending over $50,000. The whole situation disturbed me. Finally, we simply had different perspectives on finances, which was difficult for us to cope with. She was a spender, but I am a saver. On the wedding day, I discovered we owed an additional $10,000. I flipped out and then walked away. — Chris, 29.

8. Our Families Did Not Blend. Weddings are an excellent way to see if your families will get along, which ours definitely did not. There were physical fights among our family members before the ceremony even began. By the time I finished dealing with that, I had had enough and decided to leave the relationship and not marry. — Anthony, 29.

9. I did not have a reason. I’m not sure why I didn’t marry. I simply didn’t. I awoke on my wedding day and didn’t leave my bed. I was depressed and did not have the energy to go be married. Love is complicated, and I wish I could provide a better solution. — Rick, 27