Man gives a 'promise ring' to wife's daughter on wedding day and asks her to call him dad

Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 11, 2023. It has since been updated.

Children need their parents and one man knew this. While most kids share a special bond with their parents, the unconditional love a dad feels for his daughter has no match. Some say the relationship between a parent and their stepchild can be rocky, but this heartwarming video of a dad asking his partner's daughter a life-changing question on his wedding day and leaving her sobbing in his arms will shun your stereotypes.

In a touching video shared on social media by @goodtimeweddings, a man is seen kneeling and putting a ring on his stepdaughter’s finger, which he called a "promise ring." The tear-jerking moment garnered over 20K views on YouTube.

In the clip, the groom faced his guests and explained that he had one more important thing to do. "There is one last thing, it's not a tradition, it's not something that goes within the Catholic Church or normal weddings," he says.

The groom brings his stepdaughter out to the front. "Not only today did I marry your mom, but I accepted you as my daughter," he says in a shaky voice while holding her hands. "I promise to always take care of you. I know you've been wanting to call me dad for a long time, and I want to give you this ring as my commitment to you, as well."

He takes out the ring, and as his now-wife cries in the corner, he adds, "I will always be there for you, and I promise to always take care of you."

The young girl only nodded in approval while shyly looking down. The groom then quickly went into full protective dad mode and joked: "I promise to care for you, make sure no boy steals your heart." As the little one laughed, he added: "No one is going to mess with you all right, you're all mine, just like your mom's all mine, and I love you a lot."

His daughter nodded a small 'yes' and went in for a warm embrace from the man who would fulfill an essential role in her life. The tear-jerking moment quickly gained traction online, with countless people sharing their own emotional stories.

The video was also posted on Reddit, garnering over 77K upvotes, with people swooning over this beautiful moment between a dad and his daughter. Stepparents might have a bad reputation, but this dad proved that isn't always true.

"My (step) dad did the same with me the day he married my mom. I was 9 then and he hugged me so hard I can still feel it. He did it privately though. He took me to the garden and told me that whatever happened he would ALWAYS be my dad. He wanted to adopt me officially but my a**hole birth father didn’t sign the papers," commented u/moringssucks. 

"I hate you so damn much man. You got a grown-ass man crying in bed right before bedtime lol," added an emotional u/discrust88. "I exchanged vows with my 5-year-old daughter when I married her mom and gave her a ring. Replaced it as she grew out of the old ones till her mom left me for someone else. But I was her dad and knew our relationship was strong. She’s 30 now and I walked her down the aisle a year ago and wore those rings around my neck. Proudest day of my life. I love being her dad," shared u/Mkbond007.

"I think it’s a nice way to let the daughter know 'I’m not taking your mom from you, we’re all becoming a family.' A child can feel ignored or brushed aside in favor of their parent’s new partner. This makes her feel like an important part of the day. And apparently, she’d been asking to call him dad, and this was him letting her know it was 'official,'" said u/Snowbank_Lake.