Young sister begged family not to be 'weird' around her new boyfriend. Spoiler alert: They were weird

Introducing a new partner to your family is undoubtedly a nerve-wracking experience. Regardless of how much you love your family, you naturally fear embarrassing questions and remarks during high-stakes meetings. And if your family is full of pranksters, the whole experience could easily become a hilarious tale that is retold for years. This is exactly what happened in the case of Kylie Winters, as captured in a video.

TikTok user Courtney Winters and her family had one job: "Don't be weird" in the presence of Joe, Courtney's sister Kylie's new boyfriend. "My sister brought her boyfriend over for the first time... She told us not to be 'weird,'" @courtneywinters revealed in the text overlay of a video posted in May. Spoiler alert: The Winters were not just weird, but extremely weird when the young couple arrived. In fact, the pair were greeted with the funniest surprise prank from the family.

The video begins with seven of Kylie's family members waiting outdoors on the lawn with their arms folded. The family holds their position as the couple's car pulls up and immediately forms a "London Bridge Falling Down" type set-up when the young couple gets out of the vehicle and walks toward them. Kylie's boyfriend awkwardly walks through the family tunnel, until he ends up face-to-face with his girlfriend's dad. Kylie then follows through the hand tunnel, visibly embarrassed by her family's lighthearted antics.

A 2021 psychology study published in Roczniki Psychologiczne (Annals of Psychology) examined how young adults experience these moments. Researchers found that both introducing a partner to one’s own parents and meeting a partner’s parents are consistently described as emotionally intense and stressful events. Participants reported anxiety tied to fear of judgment, awkward family behavior, and concern over how the relationship might be perceived. In other words, even before anything actually goes wrong, people expect these meetings to be loaded, which helps explain why Kylie’s simple request carried so much weight.

The prankster family spoke with Good Morning America to share the story of how they came up with the hilarious prank. "My youngest daughter was bringing her boyfriend over for the first time, and she had told me a couple days ago: 'Mom don't be weird.' That day, when everyone was gathering, she went to pick her boyfriend up and I said to everyone, she said, 'Don't be weird,' so then the ideas started flying," the girl's mom shared.

"It helped break the ice. Because, how much weirder can it get than that?" Kylie's dad chimed in. "It's hard because Kylie and Joe are both quiet, so, I think that was a really good introduction to, hey just be here and be comfortable." His wife added: "And welcome to us."

The video was appreciated by many on social media, raking over 21 million views on TikTok alone. One user commented: "My wife (gf at the time) flew to Louisiana to meet for the first time, her and 3 of her friends & 3 dogs all stood outside like this waiting for me." Many users commented sarcastically on Joe not shaking her dad's hand. User Kara Castano commented: "He didn’t pass the vibe check because he didn’t shake the guy's hand at the very end uh oh." However, Kylie's father revealed that he was actually "growling up at" Joe when the young man walked up to him.

You can follow Courtney Winters (@courtneywinters) on TikTok for honest product reviews.

This article originally appeared 3 years ago.