A soldier brought his high school sweetheart to tears of joy when he returned home after months apart and surprised her from inside the trunk of a family car.
Leah Luckey, 17, from Lakeland, Florida, has been the girlfriend of Riley Blanchette, 18 since she was in her freshman year of high school.
Having been in a relationship for around two years, Leah and Riley knew the separation when Riley headed to bootcamp in July 2024 would be extremely tough.
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After graduating as a Private First Class with the United States Army National Guard, Riley was then shipped to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
But when he got the news he was due to return home in December, around five months after he left, Riley knew he had to plan a surprise for Leah.
He liaised with Leah’s mom, Katie, who thought her daughter’s birthday on December 19 was the perfect disguise for the surprise.
A couple of days later, after picking Riley up and hiding him in the trunk of her car, Katie told her daughter there was another present in the car waiting for her.
As Leah opened the trunk and saw her boyfriend lying there, she immediately burst into tears of joy, taking time to compose herself before giving Riley a long-awaited hug.
Katie captured the sweet reunion in a video and later shared it on social media.
She said: “She legit thought there was a forgotten birthday gift in the back of the car in the tire compartment.
“Leah thought she wouldn’t be able to see Riley for a number of weeks or months because he kept telling her he wasn’t sure when he would be home.
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“I started to cry, seeing my baby girl get to hug and hold her true love, which she hadn’t been able to do for months and months – it melted my heart.
“These two love each other so much and are so committed to each other.
“Everyone who has watched the video has cried and loves seeing them so happy together.”