Top this meet-cute! A New Jersey couple, who recently became engaged, shared side-by-side cribs as newborns at the same hospital 26 years ago.
After bride-to-be Courtney Mahnken shared the story on TikTok it quickly went viral with more than 8 million views.
In the clip, Mahnken explains that she and her future husband Nick Monguso grew up in the same town and were always buddies.
But in middle school, their friendship turned romantic.
“We were two 14-year-olds falling in love,” Mahnken told TODAY Parents.
Mahnken was a ball of nerves the day she introduced her mom, Joy, to Monguso’s folks.
“She’s this very unfiltered Italian woman. She says whatever comes to her mind. And Nick’s parents — they’re very calm, kind of reserved,” Mahnken revealed. “But I knew the only way she would be comfortable letting me spend time at Nick’s house, was if she met them.”
When the families came together, Joy was on her best behavior. Mahnken breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, suddenly, Joy started asking questions.
“She was like, ‘What’s Nick’s birthday?’ ‘Where did you give birth?’” Mahnken recalled. “I was confused, like why does she need to know these random things?”
Joy, who never forgets a face, remembered seeing Dawn and Nick Monguso at Monmouth Medical Center in 1994.
“Nick’s dad is very skinny and lanky, and his mom is very pretty,” Mahnken said. “My mom was like, ‘I was standing right next to you tapping on that nursery window. Our babies were right next to each other because of our last names.'”
Mahnken’s intense feelings for Monguso started to make sense.
“I remember thinking, ‘I guess that’s why I’m so obsessed with him,’” Mahnken said.
Mahnken and Monguso would date on and off through high school and college. Each time they broke up, the universe would bring them back together.
“I’d go to use the bathroom at a random bar with 2000 people and he’d be on the same line,” Mahnken explained.
Monguso, who works in IT, proposed last November, outside the school where Mahnken teaches fourth grade.
“He said, ‘It’s always been you,’” Mahnken said. “And I feel the same way. It’s always, always been Nick.”