Man Proposes To High School Sweetheart In Airport After 60 Years Apart
Jessica Wood Even after six decades apart from each other, one couple knew that they were always destined to be together.
When they were finally reunited in person, they did not hesitate another second being without one another and made their love official right in the middle of a busy airport terminal.
Dr. Thomas McMeekin proposed to his high school sweetheart, Nancy Gambell, at Tampa International Airport after 60 years apart.
It has been 60 years since McMeekin graduated from his high school in Quincy, California. Yet, he has never forgotten his high school sweetheart, Nancy Gambell. The pair went on a few dates before parting ways and attending different colleges, before they both wound up eventually marrying other people.
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Ten years ago, they were reunited at their 50th high school reunion. However, they did not rekindle their love since they were both with their repsective spouses at the time.
However as time would have it, their love story was far from over. Three weeks ago, McMeekin RSVP’d to his 60th high school reunion which is taking place in August. He was surprised to receive a message from Gambell shortly afterward. “I hear from her, and she says, ‘I'm really looking forward to seeing you again,’" the dermatologist told Fox 13.
Gambell arranged to fly from California to Florida to meet with McMeekin at Tampa International Airport, where he promised to have a surprise waiting for her.
Their reunion was captured by McMeekin’s staff members, who accompanied him to the airport to get the moment on film. "They all were excited because all week long, I’ve been acting like a giddy fool, jumping around and smiling!" the doctor says.
It was there that McMeekin surprised Gambell with a necklace that contained both of their birthstones. But that was not all. The love-stricken doctor handed her a bouquet of flowers before getting down on one knee.
“For the last three weeks I have thought about you every day, every hour, and talked to you every night or hours,” he says to Gambell in a heartwarming TikTok video. “I’ve longed to see you again, hold you in my arms and tell you how much you mean to me.”
McMeekin popped the question to an emotional Gambell, who graciously responds with a “yes!” as other airport goers clap and cheer for the happy couple.
“We admired each other from a distance,” McMeekin says of their time apart. “I never thought I had a chance with her.”
"I thought, thank God I don't wear makeup. I would have stuff just running down my face," Gambell said. "I was crying."
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Their reunion and proposal have generated millions of views on TikTok.
“One of my staff said, ‘It’s gone viral,’ and I said, ‘Viral? What?’” McMeekin recalls.
While the couple acknowledges that their engagement happened rather quickly, they would not have it any other way.
Related Stories From YourTango:"It's wonderful because we don't have a lot of life left. And to be able to spend it in that way with this person is a dream come true," Gambell says.
The pair plans on marrying in California, where they first met.
Their extraordinary story demonstrates that true love is timeless, and even if decades have gone by, those feelings do not fade once you are reunited with your person.
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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
