Dateless teen takes prom pictures with 'suave' grandfather: 'I knew he'd come through for me'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One California teen’s prom pictures have taken social media by storm thanks to the handsome date that escorted her for the classic photo op — her grandfather.
Earlier this week, Lancaster High School student Kaylah Bell took to Twitter to share the images of herself and her guest of honor, in a post that has since gone massively viral with over 107,000 likes and 12,000 shares.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It was really hard for me to find a date," Bell, 17, told "Fox & Friends" on Monday. “It was a very, very, very, very, very long process because everybody kept flaking on me," she added.
Not wanting to snap her pre-prom pics alone, Bell turned to her grandfather, 67-year-old Alvin Hackett, for support.
“I decided to ask my grandpa to take pictures with me because I knew that he has never had a prom, and he hasn’t experienced getting dressed up and buying a corsage and all of that,” Bell told Fox News in an earlier interview. “I also know how well he dresses every single Sunday for church,” she said, adding that her grandfather is the pastor of his own congregation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I knew he’d come through for me. So I just asked him, and he said he’d do it. He showed up at my house, with the whole suit on," the 17-year-old student said. (Kaylah Bell)
Hackett, meanwhile, claimed he didn't even need to buy a new stitch of clothes, as he already had a set of matching clothes in his closet.
"I knew the colors that she was wearing, so I just matched the colors up," Hackett said during "Fox & Friends."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Though Hackett couldn’t accompany Bell to the actual prom – as the age limit is 21 – he did drive Kayla to the venue and posed for more photos there, Fox 29 reported.
Predictably, upon arrival, the two stole the show. Bell wore a lovely full-skirted violet, pink and blue gown – fiercely accented with a regal cape – while Hackett was dapper in a complimentary navy-pinstriped suit and pink shirt-and-tie combo. Of course, in proper prom tradition, the pair also exchanged a corsage and boutonniere.
“Honestly, I don’t think [my friends] expected anything else from me, because I talk about [my grandfather] all the time," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I decided to ask my grandpa to take pictures with me because I knew that he has never had a prom, and he hasn’t experienced getting dressed up and buying a corsage and all of that,” Bell told Fox News. (Kaylah Bell)
As she enjoys the end of her senior year and prepares to head to Azusa Pacific University in the fall, Bell said that she’ll always cherish the “happy memory” of taking prom pics with her special granddad.
Twitter users, meanwhile, largely went wild for the adorable – and apparently relatable – tale.
“Girl same,” one fan wrote, sharing what she claimed to be a photo of herself in the same situation in 2012.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I tell you one day when she has settled down with her husband or not, she will not regret not taking her Dad out. This will always fill her heart with joy when he’s not around,” another commenter exclaimed. “I love my Dad so much I know she will always appreciate this moment so these other dudes don’t matter.”
“Honestly the only men that deserve us,” one agreed.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Others, meanwhile, gave Hackett a well-deserved shout out.
“We should all aspire to be this suave,” one declared.
“That’s what Paw paw’s do! Come through,” another chimed in.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“That's the best man that could have ever taken you,” another professed.