Man returns from deployment to surprise girlfriend and pulls off an epic proposal with Santa's help

Jesse and Stephanie's relationship is nothing short of a fairytale. They met on October 29, 2016, and hit it off immediately. Within a month, they were dating and less than a year later Jesse was all set to pop the question to Stephanie, 33. He couldn't have done it any better. Jesse Larson, 29, was stationed on a US submarine based out of Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Silverdale, Washington. He was on a transfer leave from Washington to shore duty in Rhode Island when he drove to Iowa to surprise his girlfriend and stepdaughter Skylar King, Jesse told Upworthy in an interview. They had been dating for a year at the time.

Jesse planned everything with the help of his sister-in-law and Santa Claus. "I talked to Santa when I arrived at the mall and he helped hide the ring in his sack of presents. I then hid out in Claire's store for about 35-40 waiting for my sister-in-law to arrive with my wife and daughter. My mother-in-law and father-in-law were also present of course," he recalled. In a video uploaded on Reddit, while Stephanie and Skylar are seen clicking a picture with Santa, Jesse then surprises them and Stephanie is left speechless. Then they click a picture with Santa together. Santa then hands over the ring box to Jesse. He then gets down on one knee before proposing to Stephanie. "Will you marry me?" he asks, and she said, "Yes." The video went viral on Reddit with many hailing it as one of the most romantic proposals they'd seen.

They eloped two weeks later so that they "could be married by the time" Jesse reached his shore location. They celebrate five years of marriage today December 20, 2022. They are still going as strong as ever. "We now live in Stillwater, Oklahoma after staying in Newport, Rhode Island, and Jacksonville, Florida." They've been through a lot as a couple. "Stephanie was in a serious car accident in August of 2020, and just started working again in September of this year," he recalled. 

The couple is parents to 9-year-old Skylar, who is Jesse's stepdaughter. "She knows me as Dad," he says, before adding that she is reconnecting with her biological father now. "She just recently started a relationship with him actually and talks to him via chat and FaceTime quite often," he said.

Jesse was born in Schenectady, New York but moved to Adams, Wisconsin when he was still a baby. Stephanie was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and moved to St. George, Utah when she was around 3rd grade. She had lived in Utah for about 20 years. 

Almost five years into their marriage, Jesse's eyes still light up when he sees his wife. "Stephanie, she's my queen. Despite everything she is going through, she is there for everyone else first. And it is just so special to be able to go through life with someone like her. I'm truly blessed," said Jesse.