A groom couldn’t stop sobbing tears of happiness when his stepdaughters surprised him and their mom with a heartwarming adoption request on the couple’s wedding day.
Since Jacob Tallman, from Kirksville, Missouri, came into the lives of Cadence 14, Carah, 10, and Carlee, nine, two years ago, he’s shared a special bond with his now-wife Challis’ three children.
Jacob, 33, who goes by Jake, met single mom Challis, 34, via TikTok in August 2023, and the pair started talking regularly via the app’s Live feature before moving to other messaging apps.
Having seen their bond grow, Challis took the big step of moving her family from their home in Houston, Texas, to Missouri where Jake lived with his daughters, Emma, 12, and Kennedie, 10.
The blended families hit it off right away, with Jake’s skills as a girl dad making Cadence, Carah and Carlee immediately warm to him.
Jake also encouraged Challis to follow dreams she had not been able to follow as a busy single mom, and in January 2025, opened her own dance studio near her new home.
These growing connections saw Challis and Jake get engaged and plan a wedding for July 20, ahead of which Cadence asked if she could give a speech.
Challis encouraged the teenager to include her younger siblings, too, and approved the request as long as Cadence ran the speech past her maid of honor first.
On the day itself, at Thousand Hills State Park Shelter, Cadence stood up during the reception and spoke about her past and the happiness at Jake coming into her and her siblings’ lives – a moment that caught Challis by surprise, as she said her daughter never usually likes to talk about such emotions.
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Then, joined by Carah and Carlee, Cadence and her two siblings asked Jake if he would adopt them, in a moment that immediately brought the 33-year-old stepdad to tears of happiness.
Challis, who was already crying at the previous part of the speech, then watched on as an emotional Jake rose from his chair and headed over to give his three stepdaughters a huge hug.
Challis said Carah and Carlee hadn’t seen or heard from their biological dad in years, while Cadence’s father had been in and out of her life – so the adoption request felt like all three were embracing a true father figure.
Cadence later shared a video of the moment on social media, where the post received an outpouring of love, helping the family raise funds to make the adoption official.
Challis added: “Jake is always stoic and he is our strength, and for him to have tears in his eyes shows that these are and have always been his daughters in his eyes and mine.
“One thing I’d like this video to do is show single moms that they can still find love – or rather it find them.
“When you’re single and struggling with kids, it’s easy to think you may never get that chance at love and your kids will have to deal with how this has been.
“But it’s not true – I found my soulmate on a social media app that isn’t even a dating app.
“There are ton of comments on the videos of single moms saying how they wish they had this or how bad they want it, and I do try to reply to those comments, so they know it’s okay and they aren’t alone.”
