Featured Image Credit: Instagram/advocatehealth
Topics: Parenting, Social Media, Illinois
Ben Williams
Topics: Parenting, Social Media, Illinois
A birth-turned-proposal also turned into controversy after a dad got down on one knee soon after his child was born.
The first few minutes after giving birth are usually all about skin-to-skin cuddles, tears, and that surreal realization that life has just changed forever. For one Illinois couple, though, it became the start of another life-changing moment: one that’s had the internet arguing ever since.
Earlier this month, Challis Bell and Denzel Kimbrough welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Ace, at Advocate Christ Medical Center.
The new parents were surrounded by nurses, cameras, and all the usual post-delivery chaos. What Challis didn’t know was that something even bigger was about to happen.
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Moments later, the nurses handed Challis her newborn, dressed in a tiny onesie.
That onesie read: “Mommy, will you marry Daddy?”. That’s when Denzel got down on one knee.
A now-viral video shared by the hospital shows the heart-stopping moment Challis looked completely stunned before managing to say: “Oh my God, yes.”
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The post instantly blew up, clocking hundreds of thousands of likes, and plenty of opinions from social media users.
On Instagram, the reactions came thick and fast. One commenter on the original reel on Advocate Health’s account, said: “This is really sweet but — don't propose to me after I've just done the hardest physical thing eveeeeerrr.”
Meanwhile, another added: “I actually don’t like this. I think he should have let her have her first moments with her newborn… but instead he made it about him.”
Others were more light-hearted. One person joked: “She still in the Laborland trying to understand what’s going on in the real world! Congrats to this beautiful family."
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Another defended the couple, saying: “Our opinions don’t matter. We should just be happy for them and congratulate them. They’ve got a healthy baby, mom survived labor, and they just got engaged. It’s new beginnings for them.”
Denzel, 30, told Today: “It was kind of a random idea, honestly…We had talked about getting engaged before our son was born, and one day I thought, ‘What better place than the delivery room?’”
He’s aware of the online criticism but doesn’t seem fazed: “Everybody has their own opinion…Some people might say, ‘Oh, I would’ve proposed before,’ or ‘I would’ve just waited until after.’ But I just felt like it was the perfect opportunity for us.”
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He added: “I wanted to make that day the best day of her life.”
For Challis, it clearly was. She said: “It was perfect…We can’t control other people’s opinions, but I'm definitely happy to see that we’ve gotten more congratulations, blessings, and positivity coming our way than negativity. Everybody’s different — we’re just focused on the love.”
The proposal might not be everyone’s first choice of timing, but for Challis and Denzel, it worked perfectly.