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Husband takes hairstyling lessons to help his wife feel beautiful after stroke

This is so beautiful.
True love does exist!
For Raigen Kelley, the stylist who recorded the video, Andrew's sweet gesture to his wife is \"proof that true love really exists.\"Raigen Kelley/Facebook
/ Source: TODAY

Since having a stroke 18 years ago, Theresa has struggled to style her own hair. So her husband of nearly 45 years, Andrew, decided to help in the most beautiful way.

It all started when Theresa visited the Foundry Salon in New Braunfels, Texas. (Theresa and Andrew asked TODAY not to use their last names.) Her three kids had given her a gift certificate to the salon for Mother’s Day.

“She got her hair done and fell in love with it,” the couple’s son, Steve, told TODAY Style. “Well, that next morning, she took a shower and it fell down … She couldn’t get it back to the way they had styled it.”

Andrew saw how much joy the new hairstyle had brought his wife, and he wanted her to feel great about her hair every day. So he went back to the salon and started buying products that he hoped would help her re-create the look at home.

Theresa’s hairstylist, Andrea Gomez, noticed what Andrew was doing, and made him a lovely offer. She volunteered to give Andrew a styling lesson so that he could do Theresa’s hair himself.

So Andrew and Theresa went back the next day — and another stylist at the salon, Raigen Kelley, captured the heartwarming lesson in a video that has been viewed more than 7.8 million times on Facebook, and counting.

“At first, I think we just didn’t know what was going on, because we saw a gentleman behind the chair asking questions,” Nicci Meyer, the salon’s operations coordinator, told TODAY Style. “And once we found out, it was just one of those moments ... and you look around and everyone was tearing up and crying.”

Man styles his wife's hair
Andrew and Theresa live in San Antonio, Texas.

Andrew was a great student, Meyer added.

“He wanted to make sure he had the right tools to do it. He asked a lot of questions,” she told TODAY. “He really wanted to make sure that he was doing a good job for her, and that she would love the end result as much as she did when she left the salon.”

Man styles his wife's hair
Andrew learned how to blow dry his wife's hair using a round brush.Raigen Kelley/Facebook

This is just the latest example of Andrew’s moving devotion to his wife. Since Theresa's stroke 18 years ago, Andrew has never been far from her side.

“My dad has really been her caretaker,” Steve, told TODAY Style. “He has had no problem, never complained once.”

About three years ago, Andrew even found a job as a bus driver that allows him to care for Theresa during the day.

“He goes to work at six and gets off at 8:30, gets home and gets her breakfast, fed and bathed,” Steve said. “They do lunch, and then he goes back to work from two to five, then he comes home for dinner … and takes care of her and gets her ready for bed.”

Man styles his wife's hair
Andrew and Theresa will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary in October.

For Raigen Kelley, the stylist who recorded the video, Andrew’s latest, sweet gesture to his wife is “proof that true love really exists.”

It was “truly one of the best things I have been able to witness in my life,” she wrote on Facebook. “(It) brought tears to my eyes..what an amazing man and what a lucky woman.”

At first, Andrew and Theresa were a little overwhelmed when learning their video had gone viral. They were hesitant to be the center of so much attention. But their son helped them see that their touching story is inspiring millions of people around the globe.

“There’s so much bad stuff that everybody wants to see in this world,” Steve said. “And for the first time that I can see in a while, people actually enjoyed something nice.”

As for Andrew’s hairstyling skills? So far, so good.

“When they came over on Monday, my mom’s hair was styled pretty nice!” Steve said. “My wife and I commented that it looked really good. So, for now, he seems to be doing okay!”