A 6-year-old's woeful YouTube video about not being old
enough to marry Houston Texans defensive lineman JJ Watt lead to a surprise
proposal, complete with a Ring Pop ring, a white jersey wedding gown and a
first dance to Justin Bieber.
"It first started when we saw on the news that JJ Watt
was having a hard time finding a good girlfriend because of his fame and
everything," Lindsey Bartay, mother of the mournful Breanna in the YouTube
video, told ABCNews.com. "He wanted to make sure he had the right
one."
"I called her in because she loves him," Bartay
said. "I said, 'Breanna, come look, he's looking for a good girlfriend,'
and she came in and she's like, 'Yay, I'm going to marry JJ Watt. He's so
awesome. I love him.'"
But Breanna's grandmother was in the room and told the
little girl she had to be at least 25 to get married.
"And then she started just boo-hooing, just really,
really hard crying," said Bartay.
In the video, a tearful Breanna says, "I just want to
marry JJ Watt."
"I'm not old enough," she cries. "I wish my
birthday was in like ... what is his birthday?"
Bartay said she wanted to send the video to relatives, but
it was too big for an email or a text, so she posted it on YouTube on Jan. 12.
It has been viewed more than 300,000 times.
About two weeks later, the video made its way to Watt, who
tweeted, "Does anyone happen to know this cute little girl? We have to
find her and turn those tears into a smile."
"After a little while, people started emailing and
calling, saying, 'JJ Watt is looking for you,'" Bartay said.
Bartay said she received some negative comments from people
saying she was trying to get something from Watt by posting the video, so when
he finally called and said he wanted to meet Breanna, Bartay was initially
reluctant.
"But he was like, 'No, no. I really want to do it for
her,'" Bartay recalled.
Watt wanted to surprise his young fan, so he set up a tour
of the Houston Texans Reliant Stadium for her. When Breanna asked her mom if
Watt would be there, Bartay said that he couldn't be there because he had an
early flight and wouldn't be able to make it.
Breanna was disappointed but thrilled to see the giant
photos of Watt in the stadium. A tour guide walked the family through the gift
shop, and a surprise was waiting in the next room.
"When we walked through the next room, he was down on
one knee with the Ring Pop in his hand and he said, 'Breanna, come here,'"
Bartay said.
At first, Breanna thought Watt was a statue, saying to her
mother, "He looks so real."
"Then she walked over to him and he said, 'I know we
can't really get married, but would you be my pretend wife for the day? And she
said yes," Bartay recalled with a laugh. "Then he said, 'Thank
goodness. I didn't know what I was going to do if you said no. I was so
nervous. I've never fake proposed before.'"
He gave her a bouquet of flowers and put on his own candy
ring. He presented Breanna with a white version of his 99 jersey, which was
floor length on her, to serve as her wedding gown.
Watt showed the family around Reliant Stadium, and then
stopped to remind Breanna that they hadn't had their first dance yet. He asked
her if she liked Justin Bieber -- she did -- and they danced to "As Long
as You Love Me."
"They danced to the entire song," Bartay said.
"He twirled her around and kind of spun himself around and tried to dip
her. She was so shy.
"At the very end, he said, 'I love you,' and she said,
'I love you too,'" Bartay said. "Not only is JJ a class act, but what
amazing parents he has to have raised such a fine, caring young man. I thank
them."
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