A woman invited her boyfriend’s ex-wife to their gender reveal party and shared the sweet message she left for their baby.
In a viral TikTok video first shared last summer, user Gabrielle Briones showed viewers what it’s like to manage a blended family and how to be respectful to all involved, including her boyfriend Michael’s ex-wife, Ismayra, with whom he shares a 20-year-old son.
Briones wrote in the overlaid text over a photo introducing the clip, “I invited my boyfriend’s baby mama to our gender reveal [and] this is what happened.”
She had everyone at the party guess the gender of their daughter Sonia - later born in December 2023 - and film their responses. Ismayra had a heartfelt message for little Sonia.
“Well hello there. Whether you’re a boy or a girl, I’m Sean’s mom, so I’ll be like your other auntie to you. Welcome to the village,” Ismayra said, referring to her son and now Sonia’s half-brother. “Welcome to the family. We love you already.”
At the time, the young mother captioned the video writing: “What happens when you get grown folks together.”
Since it was posted, the video has garnered over 131,000 likes on the platform. In an interview with People, Briones says that Ismayra has been the doting “auntie” to Sonia as she said she would be in the video.
“She’ll call me and she’ll be like, “Oh, do you want to go have lunch? Bring the baby,’ ” Briones revealed, noting that she and her boyfriend’s ex-wife have developed a close relationship. Their friendship was a relief amid Michael’s past difficulties blending his family.
“I’ve heard several stories of Sean having to go through stuff because they didn’t get along. He always had to have two birthdays. It was bad,” Briones admitted. “When I came into the picture, my boyfriend — immediately [on] our third date — was like, ‘I want you to meet my family.’ ”
Although it was intimidating to meet his family just after they met on Bumble, she was met with open arms. Ismayra welcomed her with a home-cooked meal and a friendly disposition.
“She cooked us dinner, and she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so happy Michael’s found somebody that he really likes. I hope you guys have a really good relationship,’” Briones recalled. “She was super supportive from the get-go.”
“This is the most beautiful breath of fresh air that I could have ever asked for,” Briones added of their tight-knit family. “I really do feel blessed for the whole thing.”
Just last summer, Briones and Michael traveled to Puerto Rico to spend time with Ismayra’s relatives. Since then, the family has invited the couple to bring Sonia to “meet her other family.”
