Best Friends of 30 Years Get Emotional Surprise After Their Kids Marry Each Other — and Reveal Sweet News (Exclusive)
Toni Wells and Beth Thomas first met in a newlywed class in the 1980s before welcoming children who would grow up to be "like siblings"
Courtesy of Ashley Thomas
Beth Thomas and Toni WellsAfter meeting more than 30 years ago, Toni Wells and Beth Thomas are gearing up to share a grandkid together after their children tied the knot in 2020
Ashley and Luke grew up "like siblings" and had a strictly platonic relationship until they were both in college and decided to explore feelings for each other
Now, after four years of marriage, the two are expecting their first child together due in August 2024
Though Ashley and Luke Thomas are not related by blood, they grew up “like siblings” after their parents became tight knit friends in the 1980s.
After meeting in a newlywed class following their respective marriages, Rick and Toni Wells and Blake and Beth Thomas would do “everything together.”
Both couples went on to have three children each, who all grew up together with Ashley and Luke being born just four months apart.
Courtesy of Ashley Thomas
Ashley and Luke as children“We have been raised together our entire lives and have treated each other like siblings since the beginning,” Ashley tells PEOPLE. “My mom said it perfectly the other day, ‘I didn’t just have 3 kids, I have 6 and I love each and every one of them.’ ”
After decades of a truly platonic relationship, which at times mimicked that of a bickering brother and sister who while being homeschooled together in middle school were “constantly fighting, wrestling, punching each other, yelling,” Ashley and Luke decided to explore their relationship romantically in college before tying the knot four years later.
Courtesy of Ashley Thomas
Toni Wells holding Luke as a newbornAshley has documented their relationship — and heartwarming origin story — on her TikTok account in videos that have received millions of views.
In one video shared to her account, the two are seen playing by a slip and slide as kids before someone behind the camera yells “are y'all going to get married one day?” causing the two to both respond "no!" and run away. As the old clip fades away, the two are seen kissing and walking down the aisle on their wedding day all those years later.
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“It was always you,” Ashley writes in the caption of the video in celebration of their fourth wedding anniversary.
The two wed on Feb. 7, 2020 in what Ashely calls “the best day of my life.” The couple was joined by people who had seen their relationship at different stages of their life from childhood to work colleagues, Ashely explains.
Shannon Lee Miller Photography
Ashley and Luke Thomas with both sets of parents on their wedding dayIn their wedding video, which has been viewed more than 1.7 million times on YouTube, old footage from one of the "fake weddings" coordinated by their older sisters as kids is incorporated.
“It’s funny because everyone we talk to, whether it's people we run into or barely know, always say ‘we knew it when you didn’t’ but I think it’s [because] they all wished it would happen, like the ending of a good movie or book,” she says.
In December 2023, the couple learned that their family would be expanding — a moment Ashley says her mom and mother-in-law “have dreamed about for years,” per the caption to her now viral video that has been seen over 12 million times.
In the video Toni and Beth are seen opening up a box with a pregnancy test inside that reads “First In-laws, now grandparents. Baby Thomas/Wells arriving August 2024.”
After opening the box, both women's jaws drop in excitement before bringing it in for a big hug.
Courtesy of Ashley Thomas
The Wells and Thomas familiesAlong with the emotional footage from the day, Ashely also featured old images of her mom and mother-in-law including a shot of her mom holding Luke as a newborn while being pregnant with her.
“[My mother-in-law] and my mom had been waiting for this day since the moment we got together and have asked us when we wanted to start trying,” Ashley says of their reactions.
“It was so special, and we couldn’t be more thrilled; thrilled that we are even having this precious baby, but also because this baby gets the best set of grandparents we could ever ask for. Our baby could not be more loved.”
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