While Amelia Wright ran a road race, her mother, Rebecca Wright, was going the extra mile … as a matchmaker.
The night prior, Amelia, 26, had opened up to Rebecca, a high school drama teacher, about her frustrations with dating apps.
“She had no idea what us single twenty-somethings are up against,” Amelia, a singer-songwriter in Boston, tells TODAY.com.
It only took a few minutes of swiping for Rebecca, 65, to understand Amelia’s burnout.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
“I’m scrolling through the profiles and reading what people were saying about themselves and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. This is a nightmare,’” Rebecca says.
She made a promise to her daughter.
“I hugged her and I said, ‘Mom is gonna help you. I’m gonna find you the perfect guy,’” Rebecca recalls.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
The next morning, Rebecca got to work at the Falmouth Road Race, jotting down bib numbers of cute runners who weren’t wearing wedding bands.
“I was hiding from my husband when I was typing the numbers into my phone because I knew he’d think it was creepy,” she says.
After Amelia crossed the finish line and leaned what her wingwoman had been up to, she shared the story on TikTok. The video has been seen nearly 7 million times.
“I’m 1158,” one person wrote in the comments.
Added another, “792 here!!! Omg!”
It helps that Amelia approves of her mom’s taste in men. She acknowledges that not everyone is that lucky.
“I was at a bar right after the race and I saw this really good-looking guy,” Amelia says. “I was like, ‘I wonder if he’s on the list.’ And of course he was!”
“Unfortunately, he has a girlfriend,” she adds, with a laugh.
Amelia has gone out on dates with two of Rebecca’s picks. While “nothing really sparked,” Amelia says that she’s gotten messages from guys who “would love to be Becky’s son-in-law.”
“So who knows what will come out of this!” Amelia says.
Amelia’s brother-in-law Greg Karelitz can attest that Rebecca is the ultimate mother-in-law.
“I hit the jackpot,” he says.
Greg is married to Amelia’s sister, Amberly Karelitz.
When the Karelitzes saw the reactions to Amelia’s TikTok video, they decided to create a website for Rebecca called Mother Mixer. According to Greg and Amberly, it’s a place where moms can connect and help their adult children to find their soulmate.
"All these mothers are now reaching out to me and saying, 'My daughter can't meet anyone,' 'My son can't meet anyone,'" Rebecca says. "This is a real problem. And maybe we can fix it."
Amelia is certain that her person is out there somewhere. With Rebecca on the case, it’s impossible to lose hope.
“I want someone who will sit with my mom and me and drink coffee for six hours,” Amelia says. “Whoever I end up with, I know will be best friends with her, too.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
