President Trump missed his son’s wedding. Why do people care so much?

It's been days since a small wedding took place in the Bahamas − and people are still talking about it. Why?

Well, the wedding was between Bettina Anderson and Donald Trump Jr. His father, President Donald Trump, didn't attend.

Fox News posted "stunning behind-the-scenes family photos," while Page Six offered a look "Inside Ivanka Trump's trip to the Bahamas." Jimmy Kimmel joked about the topic on his show while The Daily Beast wrote about "The View" hosts' commentary. 

American media has an enduring obsession with the daughters and sons of U.S. presidents, and Donald Trump Jr. is no different, explained Melvin Williams, associate professor of communication and media studies at Pace University.

"He was often at the forefront of his father’s presidential communications and defended him against political adversaries. Thus, President Trump’s absence from his wedding to Bettina Anderson elicits public fascination and questions amid alleged family disputes, troubling economic times, international warfare and a presidency marked with polarizing opinions about President Trump’s job performance," Williams said.

Schadenfreude, the concept of finding joy in others' hardships, is another explanation of why we can’t look away, experts say.

"There's pleasure in watching rich people who seem to have it all and these (moments) remind us that, well, they really don't have it all," Elizabeth Cohen, a professor at West Virginia University who researches psychology of media and pop culture, previously told USA TODAY.

It's all part of what makes a good story, explains Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications Syracuse University.

"There seems to be a narrative thread that we like watching people make this climb to wealth and status," Thompson previously told USA TODAY. "But once they actually get there, one of the only narrative threads left is to watch them fall. And we do get a lot of schadenfreude pleasure out of that if you look at a lot of the examples of stories that we tell."

Williams added that Trump’s wedding absence "gushes with fodder for public entertainment and speculation in ways that mirror a fictive political melodrama."

"As a result, audiences should not feel guilty for being interested in matters pertaining to politicians and their families," he said. "The very nature of contemporary political media is to glean intimate details about political figures for online engagement and public discourses."

Contributing: David Oliver, USA TODAY