The prom couple | Photo: Instagram @colinbe123
Over the weekend, a particularly memorable and sweet moment occurred on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
ABC producer Michael Del Moro tweeted out the story, which he witnessed first-hand. He was out for Mother’s Day with his boyfriend and family to enjoy some ice cream on the boardwalk.
Last night, while out for Mother’s Day with our families (read: getting some late-night ice cream because treat yourself!) we noticed a group of rowdy bros gathered on a rooftop bar obnoxiously yelling “KISS HER!” in unison at every apparent couple that passed by.
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) May 12, 2018
He described a group of ‘rowdy bros’ on a rooftop bar yelling at couples passing by.
Then, a gay couple walking home from prom came along. Moro described them wearing matching midnight blue tuxes and pink bowties. They were also holding hands.
It’s prom season here, so at that time of night you’ll see high schoolers in their formal attire. As we walked by the rooftop bros, an adorable teenage gay couple passed us in perfectly fitting midnight bue tuxes, matching pink ties, holding hands.
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) May 12, 2018
Suddenly Moro was worried what would happen when the couple walked by the group in the bar.
Luckily, his worried were unfounded. What could have been a demoralizing moment for the couple instead became one of celebration.
‘We all breathed a sigh of relief,’ Moro wrote.
After some hesitation, the young men kissed… and let me tell you: both the rooftop crew and everyone else on the boardwalk just went absolutely wild for them and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) May 12, 2018
The group of young men began yelling ‘kiss him’ instead of ‘kiss her’. When the couple obliged, everyone supported them with cheers.
Moro added he didn’t share the story as a ‘look, everything’s fine now’ lesson.
‘I just thought it was worth sharing and an encouraging moment for young LGBTQ folks out there,’ he concluded.
Even better? Turns out Moro knows a few of the guys who were up in the bar (‘because, of course, it’s Jersey,’ he said). They were up there for a friend’s bachelor party and they love the attention this story is getting. They said: ‘We are all very happy for those guys.’
So who’s the mystery couple?
People identified the couple as Theodore Vidal and Colin Beyers. Jonathan Mills, who went to high school with Vidal, first named them to Moro.
‘It’s South Jersey. Guys pick on us for being gay a lot,’ Vidal told BuzzFeed. They were preparing for similar harassment.
Then, when the unexpected happened, they called it victorious.
‘Machoism is such a thing here, so the fact that those guys cheered us on was shocking,’ Beyers said. He then added the victories like this make ‘the hard times worth it’.
The pair met playing for the Eastern Wind Symphony. They’re about to celebrate six months together after a year of ‘just glancing at each other’ while playing.
