Five-year-old asks her grandpa to accompany her to daddy-daughter dance in viral video
Austyn Woolverton, age 5, and her granddad Steve Guenther of Papillion, Nebraska, went viral after mom Kelsey Woolverton posted a video showing the moment when the girl invited Guenther to a special dance.
A five-year-old girl named Austyn Woolverton recently asked her grandfather to accompany her to a local "Daddy-Daughter Date Night" for Valentine's Day — and the sweet moment has gone viral.
Kelsey Woolverton, the girl's mother, shared the exchange on TikTok, where the video has gotten more than two million views since its upload on Jan. 16.
The Papillion Landing, a community recreation center in Papillion, Nebraska, puts on the special father-daughter event each year for Valentine's Day. The girl was looking forward to attending, Woolverton told Fox News Digital.
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However, her date night was going to look a little different from that of the other girls in attendance, as young Austyn Woolverton couldn't attend "date night" without her dad.
When she was just 18 months old, her father, Michael "Mike" Woolverton, died after a drug overdose involving fentanyl, Kelsey Woolverton said.
Austyn Woolverton asked her grandfather to go the "Daddy-Daughter Date Night" in a video that has since gone viral. (Kelsey Woolverton)
"She really doesn't have memories of him, but from the very beginning we have talked about him," Woolverton said.
"It was kind of just always something that we talk about, like we talk about the weather."
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Young Austyn decided she was going to ask her grandfather, Steve Guenther, to be her date to the daddy-daughter event.
The girl's father, Mike Woolverton, died when she was just 18 months old. (Kelsey Woolverton)
Mom Kelsey Woolverton told her dad in advance about the date night so that he could make sure he was available that evening.
Woolverton said her father wanted to ask Austyn himself — but the girl "really wants to ask you to go," she told him.
So mom and daughter went to Guenther's home one night after gymnastics for dinner.
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While there, young Austyn decided it was time to ask Grandpa to be her date for the special night.
"It breaks my heart that Austyn will grow up without her dad. I feel blessed that Austyn and I have this bond and I can be there for her when her dad can't."
Austyn drew her grandpa a picture before inviting him to the dance and Woolverton captured the moment on video (SEE THE VIDEO at the top of this article).
In the video, Austyn can be heard saying to her grandfather in a very soft voice, "There's a Valentine's dance. But we need our dad to go."
She added, "My daddy's not going to go. Will you go with me?"
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"She is usually not that emotional about her father passing and so it just kind of struck us all with surprise that she eloquently asked him that way," mom Kesley Woolverton said.
"Their bond is like nothing I have ever seen before. They are like best friends," Kelsey Woolverton said about the relationship between daughter and grandfather. (Kelsey Woolverton)
"I had no idea she would put that together that she needed her dad to go, but he wouldn't be there," Woolverton added.
As the video shows, Guenther joyfully responded to his granddaughter's request with, "I would love to."
"It breaks my heart that Austyn will grow up without her dad," Guenther told Fox News Digital.
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"I feel blessed that Austyn and I have this bond and I can be there for her when her dad can't," he added.
"I feel blessed that Austyn and I have this bond and I can be there for her when her dad can't," Steve Guenther, Austyn's grandfather, told Fox News Digital. (Kelsey Woolverton)
Kelsey Woolverton said the memory of Austyn's dad lives on.
"He was a fuller-than-life person. Full of joy [and] loved people," she said.
Even though Austyn's dad is no longer around, Kesley Woolverton said she does everything she can to keep him alive in her daughter's memory. (Kelsey Woolverton)
"[He] was never serious, almost to a fault," Woolverton said.
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After Austyn's father died, mother and daughter moved from Oklahoma back to Nebraska.
Kelsey Woolverton and her daughter Austyn moved back from Oklahoma to Nebraska after her husband died to live with Woolverton's parents. (Kelsey Woolverton)
The two moved in with Woolverton's parents while she went back to school for hairstyling, Kelsey Woolverton added.
"My mom and my dad both kind of helped me raise her in that year-and-a-half," she said.
It was during that time that the girl and her grandfather grew close.
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"Their bond is like nothing I have ever seen before. They are like best friends," Woolverton said.
"It makes me really thankful for what I do have and what Austyn has."
Austyn and Guenther often watch Nebraska Cornhuskers football together and have even attended a game.
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Young Austyn plays soccer — and she can always find her grandfather in the crowd supporting her, Woolverton said.
Austyn Woolverton, age five, enjoys watching Huskers football with her grandfather, who is a huge fan of the team. (Kelsey Woolverton)
Guenther said that what viewers don't see in the viral TikTok video is Woolverton's positive parenting of her daughter.
"She has faced one of the hardest things anyone can ever go through and has done a wonderful job [of] raising Austyn and keeping Austyn's dad alive in their hearts," he said.
"I feel really blessed to have the family I do," said mom Kelsey Woolverton. (Kelsey Woolverton)
After posting the video, Woolverton felt "overwhelmed" in the best way by the comments from TikTok users.
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"I guess I didn't realize how many people have lost their dads or don't have a dad in their life until the video came out," Woolverton said.
Kelsey's grandfather eagerly responded to her question — and the two have now attended the "Daddy-Daughter Date Night" together. (Kelsey Woolverton)
"That has been inspiring to me just to know that I'm not alone, and they're not alone in our situation," she said.
"It makes me really thankful for what I do have and what Austyn has," she added.
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Austyn and her grandpa attended the dance on Feb. 8.
Check back soon for an update on this good news story.
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