Decades After Two Preschool Sweethearts Lost Touch, Something Unbelievable Happened

[Music] [Applause] decades after two preschool sweethearts lost touch something unbelievable happened matt grotzky and laura scheel first met when they were just a couple of three-year-olds surprisingly they felt drawn to one another from the very first moment they laid eyes on each other no one could believe the beautiful bond these two created and soon they became an inseparable duo everyone loved the little preschool sweethearts while parents and teachers remained aware of grotzky and sheil no one paid too much attention to their unique bond soon enough grotzky even professed his love in front of an entire classroom unfortunately along the way the preschool sweethearts went their separate ways and left behind those incredible memories that is until their paths crossed again a few years later however no one imagined the unbelievable would occur about 25 years ago matt grotzky and laura shields paths crossed for the first time in phoenix arizona they met at the same age three years old while attending the same preschool soon after meeting one another they immediately became best friends like most toddlers grotzky and sheil were a little too young to truly understand deep friendship however the two began playing with each other constantly becoming one another's partner in crime in no time little did grotsky and sheil know that their friendship would be put to the test over and over again would their friendship survive what was about to come while grotzky doesn't remember the exact moment he saw sheil for the first time he does recall the way she made him feel grotsky felt immediately drawn to her i don't remember the first time i saw her but she was always a girl who let me follow her around grotsky recalled they became so close that even teachers and their parents started to notice it though they didn't give too much thought to it other than thinking it was an adorable innocent friendship nevertheless that didn't stop grotsky and shiel from forcing a tight bond when everyone least expected it their beautiful friendship would lead to unbelievable results when they first became friends grotzky was a total goober and he would follow sheila around the playground all day long in the meantime sheil believed grotzky was a goo though over time she began to enjoy his company especially because grotzky could always make her laugh every day he became more and more determined to show steel just how funny he could be and he did over time shield got to know his charming and hilarious personality she also realized how caring and amusing grotzky was soon enough steel and grotzky became hooked on each other from there they were like two peas in a pod and the rest was history soon enough grotzky and sheil couldn't keep away from each other furthermore they didn't want to they did everything together from chasing one another around playing hide and seek to staying up during nap time so they could giggle and sneak around for them their friendship was one of the most important things in the world still it seemed pretty innocent as the two best friends were such small children soon the pair realized that the time they were spending together at recess wasn't enough so when the preschool began arranging bi-monthly field trips she'll knew exactly who to pick as her buddy within months grotzky and sheil became inseparable any chance they could they found ways to spend time with one another sheil would always pick grodsky as her partner on field trips one of the most common field trip locations became the public library which the duo always looked forward to the two loved reading playing and just spending time with each other in return for choosing him as her partner grotzky always made sure to make she'll laugh in reality it didn't really matter where they were grotzky would always make sure they had an amazing time while it may have started as field trip buddies groudsky and sheil soon started holding hands wherever they went meanwhile teachers and parents began suspecting that the two might be quite the pair of preschool sweethearts very often grotzky tried a variety of methods to impress sheel his first tactic was always to try and make sheil laugh while she didn't find most of the boys or many of the girls either that funny grotzky would do anything he could to make shield giggle with delight by far his best flirting technique was to produce lines from disney movies off the cuff his favorite was the lion king and he would get steel's undivided attention every time i'd always try to impress her by reciting lines from the movies like the lion king and stuff like that grotzky recalled to today grotsky didn't just impress shill with humor but also with sweetness during a cinco de mayo celebration grotzky broke the pinata to impress sheil not only that he gave her all the candy since he knew she loved sweets in return sheil taught grotzky all she could for instance sheil taught him how to use the swings and how to draw rolling hills sheil also taught him according to her the proper way to eat string cheese as a result of everything they did for one another the teachers thought grotzky and sheil had the most beautiful bond as you might imagine matt grotzky and laura shiel soon wanted to spend time together outside of preschool by this point in their friendship the pair's parents had met and talked a few times becoming casual acquaintances so during the weekends the parents started planning play dates and movie theater visits during movies whenever they watched a scary scene grotzky would grab sheil's hand to let her know he was there to protect her every weekend became fun for the pair preschoolers at this point it became clear to everyone that grotzky and scheele were inseparable unsurprisingly no one believed the preschoolers could maintain such a close bond for much longer however matt had a very different opinion even though they were just a couple of four-year-olds everybody could see that grotzky and sheil were better friends than some adults during their time in preschool the duet became inseparable together they created the sweetest memories nevertheless to teachers and their parents it was clear that the little preschool sweethearts were more than just friends soon everyone agreed that the two were little lovebirds as far as that term can apply to four-year-old kiddos however groudsky was just about to make a major announcement to assure shiel of just how much he loved her for him the best way to profess his love was in front of everyone and so he did a four-year-old matt was so convinced she was his soul mate that he had no problem with letting his classmates know when you like someone you just kind of stand up and say it grotzky explained and that's precisely what he did one day grotzky stood up in front of all his classmates and declared his love for sheel furthermore grotzky said he would marry her in the future just you wait he exclaimed meanwhile his four-year-old peers burst out laughing at his heartwarming declaration but who could take him seriously at such a young age while groskie's prediction seemed way off not even he could foresee what would happen two decades later while no one took grotzky's words too seriously it didn't stop him and she'll from continuing to develop an amazing friendship for the rest of their preschool days grotzky and sheil remained as close as ever we did almost everything together in preschool she'll recalled the little lovebirds never missed each other's birthday parties and set play dates almost every weekend during their time together they were the cutest preschool sweethearts their teachers had ever seen however groudsky and scheele had no idea that fate would work against their beautiful bond at their incredibly young age grotzky and sheil believed they would remain together forever furthermore the two hated to spend any time away from one another if anything happened during the time they were apart the first thing they did was to run toward each other and talk about their new experiences in retrospect it was very rare for such young souls to share such an incredible unique bond however as preschool was coming to an end their relationship would be put to the test the pair had no idea about their parents future plans for them soon enough grotzky and scheele would face a hurdle that would compromise their beautiful friendship time flew incredibly fast and before they realized that it was time for the pair to begin a new chapter in their lives kindergarten grotzky and sheil's parents couldn't believe the time had come to send their children off to kindergarten not too long ago they were learning how to walk and now they were old enough to start school like many parents grotzky and sheil's parents believed their babies were growing up too fast meanwhile the children could not wait to start kindergarten it meant they'd see new things and meet new people of course grossky and scheele believed that they would go to kindergarten together preserve their beautiful friendship in the year to come grossly and shield did not think for a second that they might attend separate schools for kindergarten after all didn't their parents know that they were close friends the tiny tots assumed their parents knew what they wanted and worked it out however the two were in for quite the surprise as it turns out their parents had very different plans for the pair the preschool sweethearts would be going to different schools and as they were just a couple of kids there was nothing they could do to prevent that from happening in the end there was no other choice but to go along with it when the time came to start kindergarten grotsky and shiel's parents sent them off to different schools in all likelihood the parents probably did not know how much the separation would affect their children furthermore the parents needed to make the best decision for their children's futures it wasn't a deliberate action but the pair still needed to adjust to their new lives while it was heartbreaking for both of the kiddos grotzky and sheil truly believed their friendship would remain despite the distance of course they weren't going to be spending so much time together still they had to figure out some way to make it work despite all the adversities they thought that their friendship could survive despite all their efforts it wasn't easy for grotsky and shield to remain close still the pair tried to play together on any occasion they could find their parents had convinced the two buddies that they'd always have their weekend play dates together but they could barely find the time grotsky and shield continued to see each other until around the year 2000 time waits for no one and before they knew it the time that the preschool sweetheart spent together decreased drastically soon enough grotsky and shiel found themselves preparing to embark on a totally different chapter over the years it became harder than ever to find time for one another another couple of years passed by and before they realized it the time to start middle school was here by that time grotzky and sheil had lost touch completely unfortunately long gone were the days of play dates and hide and seek like most kids their age grotsky and sheil were going through the motions of growing up furthermore with everything going on in their lives the pair didn't really have much time to mull over the changes little by little they had grown accustomed to not being around each other as often however the preschool sweethearts still had one last resource to keep up with one another over the next seven years the only way the preschool sweethearts kept in touch was through their parents annual exchange of christmas cards in the yearly photos grotzky and sheil could keep track of each other's development still the cards did not provide either with deep information nor did it make up for a friendship despite the distance between them neither grotzky nor sheil forgot one another however rather than focusing on the past the preschool sweethearts decided to focus on the present even though they missed each other terribly every day life kept them busy with things like school homework family and new friends after grotsky and shiel started to navigate their way through middle school the christmas cards soon moved into the background as the years unfolded neither of them eagerly waited to see a picture of the other attached on the card it was just like the proverbial saying out of sight out of mind both grotzky and sheil moved on with their lives all that time they spent when they were both three years old seemed like a million years ago little did they know destiny slowly began setting up the dominoes for the two to reunite and it started with the birth of new friendships now that they no longer had each other grotsky and shiel began forging new friendships in their separate lives the preschool sweethearts started creating new memories with new people so it isn't that surprising that the pair found themselves thinking less and less about each other however despite the fact that they no longer saw each other they never forgot about one another before they knew it grotsky and sheil graduated from middle school and started high school just like before grotzky and sheil lost friends to new schools but neither would believe where one of grotzky's friends would end up middle school finally came to an end and the preschool sweethearts began getting ready to start their freshman year of high school like most teenagers about to enter the high school world grotzky and sheil felt excited to start the final leg of traditional schooling unfortunately the long-lost best friends went to separate schools even further away than their middle schools it seemed less and less likely that the two would ever cross paths again soon high school started and the two made even more new friends then one day sheil was going through her new friend's phone when she spotted something incredible she couldn't wrap her head around what she was looking at one day out of nowhere she was scrolling through her friend's cell phone and stumbled across matt grotzky's name in her contact list sheil's heart stopped for a moment she couldn't believe her eyes then she asked her new friend how she met grotsky and why she has his number as it turned out sheil's friend had attended middle school with grotsky then she moved and switched schools moving to shields after sheill made the connection she told her friend all about their preschool romance while she'll decided not to give it too much thought her friend had a rather outlandish idea and she was about to see it through when she'll's friend heard the story about groudsky and she'll's preschool romance she instantly knew she had to act sheil's friend told her that she wanted to set her up with grotsky again however sheild didn't think it was a great idea she was wary and hesitant at first i was a freshman in high school so i was like i don't think so she'll recalled regardless of sheil's reservations her friend went straight ahead and gave grotzky her phone number so they could reconnect after all those years she ended up giving him my number and he texted me soon they went on a date to meet while she was nervous to see her preschool sweetheart again she could not deny her excitement as well after grotzky texted sheil they agreed to meet at the movie theater just like the old days when both arrived at the location it felt like no time had passed at all the preschool sweethearts immediately hit it off making each other laugh and smile after all those years the pair's chemistry remained seemingly stronger than ever both felt something more now however a true strong and mutual attraction to one another so just two weeks after they reconnected grotsky and sheil were officially dating although it was challenging being at different schools the pair remained determined to make it work no matter what nevertheless they still had more hurdles to overcome along the way throughout high school grotzky and sheil went on dates almost every weekend and even attended one another's school dances once again they became an inseparable duo just like they had been in their preschool days however the couple was about to face yet another hurdle soon it was time for college and everything was about to get trickier again right after we graduated from high school we were pretty hesitant said sheil we were like do we stay together do we try to make it work it was time for the couple to evaluate their situation because once again each one had applied to different institutions even worse this time they would be in different states while laura scheel enrolled at the northern arizona university matt grotzky moved over 1600 miles away to chicago and enrolled at columbia college many people who have been in long-distance relationships can tell you how hard it is and the preschool sweethearts found it just as hard however the couple had already experienced a semi-long-distance relationship during their high school years so with a test run of sorts under their belt the two felt confident they could take on the challenge the couple figured out a schedule to see each other as often as they could they also used facetime and other social media to keep up with one another every day nothing would keep these two apart grotzky and sheil remained positive they would stay together and make it through their first year in college they figured if they could get through one year they could get through the mall the longest stretch they spend apart was 20 weeks but they still managed to make it work while enjoying the authentic college experience often they visited one another's campuses at this point there was no doubt that grotzky and sheil were soul mates from the moment they first met in preschool they were meant to be together however this time grotzky didn't take anything for granted nor did he want to wait to see what time had stored for them soon distance started to take its toll on grotzky thankfully he had an idea furthermore an upcoming milestone would present the perfect opportunity while the couple had to spend a considerable amount of time apart grotzky and sheil's first year of college went by incredibly quickly before they knew it another two passed and they were about to start their final year of school ever during this special time grotzky decided to do something he should have done long before something that would change his and sheil's life forever grotzky did not want to have any doubts about him and shields future as they entered into their final year of college furthermore he wanted to start their last year off with a special surprise for his love however grotzky had no idea that what he was about to do would make headlines around the world grotzky wanted to surprise his preschool sweetheart with the most extraordinary and sweet gesture while many ideas came to his mind grotsky decided a celebratory picnic was perfect however he also had a surprise up his sleeve something that would make it far more than an ordinary picnic i convinced laura that we were going to a picnic at the preschool we had just finished up our junior year of college so i framed it as a nice relaxing date grotzky later said in an interview in retrospect the special location should have given sheila a hint that the picnic would be more than advertised however sheila didn't notice anything until grotzky started acting strangely on the way to the preschool grotzky truly believed that the best place to make a symbolic moment and celebrate their beautiful relationship and unique bond was where it all started the preschool playground meanwhile sheil had no idea that grotzky had something else planned so when he began to ask trained she took notice during the car ride she'll notice that grotzky was acting nervous fidgety and even started sweating what about a picnic at a playground could make him so nervous she wondered furthermore grotzky seemed a little quieter and more reserved than usual after all even all these years later he always tried to make her laugh of course she'll had no idea what grotsky was planning matt grotzky got so nervous on the way to the preschool because he decided to turn the celebratory picnic into a proposal furthermore he had been planning it for a while two months prior to the big day and after receiving her dad's blessing grotzky purchased an engagement ring grotzky planned every bit perfectly first he had his brother waiting at the preschool so he could capture the proposal on camera next grotzky decided to use the picnic basket his own father had used while proposing to his mom filling it with snacks wedding magazines and some sparkling cider now with the stage set all grotsky needed was to get down on one knee the moment of truth finally came when the preschool sweethearts arrived at the surprise destination she'll felt overwhelmed with emotion after all those years they had returned to where it all started at first she'll thought they were there for a picnic but then all of a sudden grotzky got down on one knee and asked the love of his life if she would marry him initially she'll wasn't entirely sure what was happening i was like oh my gosh is this happening i saw the ring and was like this is gorgeous i'm so happy with it i had no idea she said unsurprisingly when she'll finally understood the situation the answer was a resounding yes over the next year and a half matt grotzky and laura shield plan their dream wedding and when you think about it it really was a dream wedding won in the making for 20 years after two decades grotzky had kept the promise that he made in front of their preschool class he would marry the girl of his dreams the time flew by for the preschool sweethearts not only did they need to plan a wedding but both graduated from college before they knew it the day had come for them to walk down the aisle and begin the rest of their lives together the two could not wait to finally fulfill grotzky's promise proving that true love does really exist preschool sweethearts matt grotzky and laura sheel tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony at the arizona historical society on december 30th 2016 grotzky's uncle officiated the lovely service describing their incredible journey perfectly for most kids in preschool it's about finding your snacks and your sleeping mats but for them it was about finding their soulmates but the fun and love didn't stop there as their way to merge their nostalgic past and celebratory present the couple chose can you feel the love tonight by elton john from the lion king as a song for their first dance the wedding was such a special moment for both grotzky and sheil however for them it was more about celebrating with their loved ones and commemorating their incredible love story than pictures or presents our favorite part of the wedding was the dancing and having everyone we love there to celebrate with us the newlyweds said we tore it up on the dance floor and it was great being surrounded by everyone who played a part in bringing us together they added after the wedding celebration the happy couple headed to their honeymoon in maui however she'll wanted to share their incredible story with the world and came up with a perfect idea without even knowing more surprises waited for her just around the corner soon after they became husband and wife sheila wanted to share her and grossky's story with the world so that's when they posted about their heart-rending preschool sweet story on the instagram account the way we met which recounts incredible love stories and how the couples met grotsky started the post explaining how they met until he got to the point where they exchanged vows 20 years later i was enamored with laura as a child and i still am to this day grotsky wrote while they assumed people would like their story the couple could never have imagined the overwhelming response it would receive the heartwarming post garnered over 30.1 likes and almost a thousand comments that came as a bit of surprise for the newlyweds moreover the preschool sweethearts knew that grotzky had written play-by-play of their childhood experiences and their high school reunion but they never expected people to love their story so much to us it seems normal because we lived it and others think it's an amazing story that you take for granted sometimes grotzky said having gone through a long-distance relationship you learn really quickly how much the other person means to you and we value our time little did little did they know that the post would go viral leading a famous star to reach out to them with an incredible offer after the preschool sweethearts renovated their brand new home the post went dormant for a few months then one day sheil received a message from the instagram account letting her know that her story had been spotlighted to an audience of 392 thousand followers their story became so popular that the famous rapper and actor therese gibson heard about them and reached out to grotsky and sheil the star admitted that he is a true sucker for love and gave the lovely couple a three-day trip to miami all expenses paid of course the couple jumped right in and took up the gesture for a vacation of course good people that they are groudsky and shield publicly thanked gibson for his kind gesture grotsky and shields love story of preschool sweethearts turned adult couple spread across the world like wildfire it's totally insane i'm eating a sandwich at work getting messages saying hey you're in india hey you're in paris it's spread like wildfire and we're just so glad to be a part of something positive around the world grotsky later said it's just crazy on the other hand she'll only sees the humor in it all saying it's so funny to scroll through the instagram and think that's my face our preschool photos are everywhere the couple also took this opportunity to highlight everything they love about one another while grotsky loves sheil's smile and kind nature sheil loves his sense of humor matt and laura grotzky will celebrate their third wedding anniversary this year and so far life has been great grotzky worked as a screenwriter but now works in the world of digital marketing meanwhile sheil works at a non-profit organization that helps foster families in need they also have a four-legged companion called kirby and love cooking and exercising together as for what the future departs scheele says we would love to have kids at some point right now we're focused on our new puppy kirby and our new house the preschool sweetheart story is a fairy tale romance for the ages