6 days ago
Husband Couldn't Taste Their 'Gender Reveal' Milkshake. But His Wife's Reaction Said It All (Exclusive)
Sarah Smith and her husband Eli found out they were expecting their first child on Jan. 7
As the weeks passed, preparations for the sex reveal began
Sarah, 28, started searching online for low-key reveal ideas. One in particular caught her eye: using milkshakesWhen Sarah Smith and her husband Eli found out they were expecting their first child on Jan. 7, the upstate New York-based couple — along with their families — were over the moon.
As the weeks passed, preparations for the sex reveal began. Sarah, 28, started searching online for low-key reveal ideas. One in particular caught her eye: using milkshakes.
The moment she saw it, she recalls thinking, 'This is it.'
'We've always tried to keep big moments between just the two of us, at least at first,' Sarah tells PEOPLE exclusively. 'It just felt more playful and different.'
The reveal happened during a ski trip with friends in Bozeman, Mont. — a place that already holds deep meaning for the couple. It's where they honeymooned, and where they were legally married by proxy while Eli, 30, was stationed overseas.
For the reveal, they went to a local spot in Bozeman called Burger Bob's. Once there, they explained the situation to their waitress, Brittney. The instructions were simple: strawberry for a girl, peanut butter for a boy. One shake, two straws, lots of whipped cream.
Sarah handed Brittney a sealed envelope with the results from their blood test. 'She was totally into it and really made it special,' Sarah says.
Not long after, Brittney returned with the milkshake. After one sip, Sarah tasted strawberry and recalls feeling overwhelmed, in the best way. But for Eli, the moment played out a little differently.
'I tend to hold stuff in when I'm processing big emotions, and in that moment, I had like a million things going on in my head, my straw wasn't working, I was trying to read her reaction, I wasn't even sure if I'd tasted anything yet,' he tells PEOPLE.
'But what really stopped me was her face. I've seen her happy plenty of times, but this was different. It was raw joy,' he adds. 'And knowing she's had some nerves about pregnancy and everything that comes with it … to see all that melt away and just be replaced by that much happiness, it was so sweet to see. I'll never forget it.'
Sarah filmed the moment mostly to capture the memory for the pair and to share with family. She hadn't planned to post it publicly, but after sending it around to a few people, she uploaded it to TikTok, where she usually saves sweet memories.
Then the video went viral, amassing more than 8.1 million views and 2,400 comments.
'It was wild,' Sarah says. 'I posted it and then just … walked away from my phone. When I came back, it had all these views and comments, and it just kept going. We hadn't even told all our friends we were expecting yet, so suddenly we were like, 'Okay, time to make some calls before people find out from TikTok.' Friends, coworkers, even people we hadn't talked to in years were texting like, 'Wait, is this you?!' '
'Honestly, it's been really positive,' she adds. 'People seem to love the idea. A few comments were funny or even a little snarky, but nothing that bothered us. We just laugh about it. Some people are convinced Eli looks disappointed, which … he wasn't. But it's kind of hilarious to see the interpretations.'
Now 25 weeks along, Sarah says that while the first trimester was tough, she's been enjoying the rest of the pregnancy. She's staying active, and everything just feels more meaningful.
'Every kick, every ultrasound, it gets me emotional every time," Sarah says. "I love setting up her room, shopping for baby clothes, all of it.'
'No way I could've waited until the birth — I really wanted to know," she adds of the baby's sex. "I was hoping for a girl, so finding out early felt important to me.'
The couple already has a name picked out but plans to keep it private for now. But when it came to sharing the sex with the world, Sarah says she's glad they did.
'In a world where everything feels like it has to be shared or staged for an audience, this was a reminder that intimacy and authenticity still matter," the mom-to-be says. "It doesn't have to be perfect or go viral to be special. What made that milkshake moment unforgettable wasn't the setup, it was the emotion behind it."
"The joy, the nervousness, the genuine surprise. We weren't acting for anyone," she adds. "We were just fully present with each other, and I think people could feel that."
Read the original article on People
