Ellen DeGeneres Surprises Same-Sex Couple Whose Family Members Won't Attend Wedding

A Philadelphia couple got a second chance to pledge their love and commitment to one another in a Tuesday appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show .” 

On Nov. 5, Kate Austin tweeted a trio of photos with fiancée Sarah Sulsenti from their recent engagement trip to Paris to both DeGeneres and Chrissy Teigen . Noting that her parents were refusing to attend the wedding because she’s gay, Austin invited both stars to attend the nuptials.

DeGeneres responded by sharing Austin’s original tweet with her followers Monday. Needless to say, it quickly went viral, and as of Tuesday morning had received more than 550,000 likes.

An even bigger surprise awaited Austin and Sulsenti, however, as they were invited by DeGeneres to appear on Tuesday’s show.

After a brief interview, a group of the couple’s chosen family members emerged onstage as Sulsenti got on one knee in front of an emotional Austin for a second proposal.

“I know you already proposed to me, but of course, you know I had to get my piece in there because you deserve it, and there’s no better way to do it than in front of our chosen family and, of course, our biggest role model,” she said. “The way that you feel today is the way that you make me feel every day.”

Earlier in the appearance, Austin credited DeGeneres with leading by example as she learned to live as her authentic self.

“If it wasn’t for someone like you, I would have never had the courage to just go out there in the public and propose to my fiancée,” she said. “So many people don’t accept that. You paved the way for queer women everywhere.”