Seniors Who Reconnected Before Their 60th High School Reunion Go Viral with Airport Proposal
"We were meant for each other," said Dr. Thomas McMeekin about his fiancé
TODAY with Hoda & Jenna/YouTube
Tom McMeekin and Nancy GambellOne couple’s viral TikTok proposal proves that it’s never too late for true love.
Dr. Thomas McMeekin, a Tampa-based dermatologist, recently reconnected with his high school crush, Nancy Gambell, both 78, when they realized they were both planning to attend their upcoming 60-year high school reunion in California.
McMeekin told Fox affiliate WTVT-TV they had “admired each other from a distance” back in high school in Quincy, Calif., but he “never thought I had a chance with her.”
Though the two went out on a few dates, they ultimately ended up marrying other people. They ran into each other occasionally over the years, but the time was never right for them to connect romantically. “We’ve had lives and jobs and professions and children and husbands and experiences,” Gambell told ABC affiliate WFTS-TV.
Things changed a few weeks ago when Gambell reached out to let McMeekin know she'd be attending their 60th high school reunion in August, and was looking forward to seeing him there, per WTVT-TV.
"And then we called. We talked for hours, hours every day. From June 10 until now, we fell in love again," McMeekin told TODAY.
It only took a few weeks for McMeekin to feel ready to take their budding relationship to the next level. “We were meant for each other, and so I said, 'I’m sending you tickets to come see me,'” McMeekin told WFTS-TV.
He invited Gambell to visit him in Florida and surprised her at the airport with his proposal.
Related: Woman Reacts After Fiancé's Marriage Proposal on Piece of Paper Goes Viral
"I couldn’t wait. I surprised her. She arrived at the airport, and she didn’t know what was happening," he told TODAY, recalling the touching moment, which one of his colleagues captured and shared on TikTok, where it went viral.
"I dropped down on two knees and I read my proposal," McMeekin added. "We’re both crying. And then I said, 'Will you marry me?' And she said, 'Yes.' "
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Gambell told TODAY that she was shocked when it happened, but that she had hoped to have a romance like theirs in her lifetime. "I did want something like this to happen," she said. "Expecting to find this kind of love anytime is kind of hard to imagine, but especially in this last few chapters that we have," she added.
McMeekin shared the same views to WFTS-TV. “To find it again at my age at this point in our life is just incredible, so have hope," he said. "There is a chance."
He plans to move to California to be with Gambell, per the outlet, and they will marry at the bride's home in October.
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