The man just wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
Martin Short nearly ruined Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s September 2025 wedding in Santa Barbara, California, by cutting into the cake before they could do it.
The actor, who co-stars with Gomez in “Only Murders in the Building,” hilariously recalled the humiliating moment on Wednesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Short, 75, explained that he was with about a dozen other performers, including Steve Martin and Paul Rudd, at a reception that featured a “large tent” and “separate seating areas with couches and chairs.”
“We were all together and there was cake by our section and there was a wedding cake. But it was a small wedding cake. I just assumed there was a wedding cake in every section in the back. So a few hours later, and they haven’t cut the wedding cake yet, Steve said he was going to leave,” Short told Kimmel.
“And maybe I was having a cocktail, I don’t know. So I said, ‘Steve, I can’t leave without eating the wedding cake yet!’ I had a fork in my hand, and I cut one side of the wedding cake, and I cut the other side as well. Then everyone in our group said, “Marty! ” he shouted. ”
Short said Steve was “very surprised” and “lightened up” by the move.
At that moment, the comedian realized it was a “wedding cake” and knew it wouldn’t be presented for another hour.
A photo of the defaced dessert, a heart-shaped sheet cake with white frosting and black “Just Wedding” text, was shown on a screen with figurines of the bride and groom on top.
“You know, I tried to fix it with a fork,” Short explained, admitting that he knew right away that “this was bad.”
“So I turned to Paul Rudd and said, ‘Shall we just go home?'” he recalled, and the audience burst into laughter.
But he decided to watch patiently as the wedding coordinator rushed in and quickly summoned the chef.
“He was like a Frenchman, ‘What the hell happened here?!’ And they operated on him,” Short said. “But in the end it turned out to be very beautiful, like a Hollywood wedding cake, but with a few twists.”
Ms Short claimed she had agreed with Ms Martin not to inform Ms Gomez of the accident, at least for a while, but that she was contacted before the night was over.
“And as I was leaving, Selena came over and said, ‘Hey, Marty! I heard you tried to eat my cake!'”
Another photo flashed on the screen, showing Blanco kissing Gomez on the cheek as she stood in front of the restored cake. Kimmel’s team tried to zoom in on Short’s cuts.
“Let’s take a look at the repairs,” the host teased, to which Short insisted, “It’s not bad!”
“But it’s not great either!” Kimmel joked, as he still had a slight scar from the cut.
Despite the ordeal, Short described the wedding as “perfect” and “beautiful.”
He also praised the couple, saying, “It’s so amazing to be at a wedding and know that these people are perfect for each other.”
“Selena is like my extra child. We love her so much. And she found this guy and he’s the best guy and they have the best hang and they’re fiercely in love.”
Gomez, 33, and Blanco, 37, are active in similar circles in the music industry and have collaborated before, but they started dating in the summer of 2023.
The two announced their engagement in December of the following year and bought a house together in Beverly Hills that same month.
Both the pop star and record producer have expressed a desire to have children, but Gomez has said she plans to use a surrogate or adopt because she has medical problems, including lupus.
