Texas Man Married His ‘Girlfriend’ of 3 Weeks Without Inviting His Parents. They Confronted Him When He Posted Wedding Photos: ‘They’re Probably AI’

Fake marriage tropes are often the stuff of fantasy novels. But Ethan Hartman, a content creator from Texas, took the trope and turned it into a plot to prank his parents just so they would stop bugging him to get married. When a post of his wedding went viral on TikTok, they called him, asking for an explanation.

Recently, a clip of a wedding circulated online because of how chaotic it got.

“Sometimes, love is knowing how to sit in silence after a long day,” the officiant said in the short clip on TikTok. Even though the sermon for the wedding seemed legitimate, one of the groomsmen toppled over unceremoniously.

The sermon went on while Hartman helped their friend, who had just passed out.

“Sometimes, it looks like laughing at something no one else would understand,” the officiant continued despite the groom and the other men helping their friend out.

“When it’s right, when it’s real, it becomes this steady thing,” the officiant said, with the groomsman still wobbling on the side. The bizarre situation got massive online traction, surpassing eight million views on TikTok. Social media users were commenting about how odd the ceremony seemed.

Instead of rushing in to help, the officiant just kept droning on. He even looked like he gave the groomsman a side-eye.

Others were finding humor in the situation, especially with how each line said by the officiant seemed to be ironic to the situation. But for those who’d guessed that the viral clip wasn’t from a real wedding, they’d be proven right. Weeks later, Hartman’s friend, content creator Hunter Williams, uploaded a longer video on YouTube.

Williams revealed that the viral TikTok clip and the other social media posts about Hartman’s wedding were nothing more than an elaborate prank.

A fake marriage story

In Williams’ video “I Fake Married a Stranger to Trick My Family,” he documented the preparation leading up to the prank. Everyone in the video was an actor, including Hartman’s bride. Apparently, Hartman had been consistently asked by his family about when he was going to get married. To silence them once and for all, Hartman agreed to go through with the prank for shock value.

Hartman and friends went through so much effort to make the prank believable to the point that they even had an “audition” for his fake wife. In the end, they chose Kendall, who he seemed to have a positive on-stage chemistry with. She gave him a miniature taco because Kendall knew her groom loved tacos, and he gave her a ring in return.

To make the relationship seem convincing, Hartman even introduced Kendall to his mother. His mother ended up liking her and was convinced that her son was in a relationship.

The moment of truth came when Hartman and friends posted the wedding photos and the TikTok clip on social media. Hartman didn’t “invite” his parents or extended family during the wedding in an attempt to enrage them, which is part of the prank. Hours after they’d posted, his parents finally called.

Did they believe the wedding prank?

“You’re not married. Shut up, whatever!” his mother’s voice boomed through the phone in disbelief.

“Yes, I am,” Hartman told his mother.

“No, you’re not,” his mother replied. Hartman tried defending himself to sell the prank even further.

“Mom, we got married this weekend,” Hartman explained. He even said that he and Kendall scored a deal on the wedding venue because someone else dropped out, which is why they’d decided to go through with the wedding. He started apologizing to his mother.

“If you did that, I will be so pissed!” His mother shouted on the other end of the line. She said that her son wouldn’t let his wedding push through without informing his mother. Hartman’s mother sounded upset at this point.

“I’m like your best friend, and you didn’t call to tell me? No,” she said in frustration. Hartman’s mother said she was hanging up. Then, a long pause came. Hartman’s friends thought that his parents were going to kill him over this prank. Because of the tension, Hartman finally told the truth.

“It’s not real,” he said, laughing out loud. But in a cruel twist, his parents were not pranked at all. His parents had seen the wedding photos.

“What are these wedding pictures of Ethan?” His dad brought up how he felt when he saw them at first. Then, he said, “I don’t know, they’re probably AI.” Even his mother admitted to only acting angry so that Hartman would finally tell the truth. It’s almost as if Hartman were reverse-pranked by his parents.

The internet was fooled

Despite the chaos the prank brought, many social media users were amused by the lengths the friends went through to make the wedding convincing. It certainly helped that Kendall and Hartman had good banter.

One social media commenter even joked, “See y’all in a few years for the real Ethan and Kendall wedding.” Even though Hartman’s parents didn’t buy the prank, many social media users did.

(featured images: Hunter Williams)

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