Mom Shares Sweet Story of How ‘Hot Dad’ at Kids’ School Became Her Husband

It’s the love story we all dream of: a series of serendipitous encounters that lead to a lifelong connection.

Such is the story of Dorilee Lavin and her husband Sean, a Vermont couple who met by, in Lavin’s words, an act of “manifestation.” In a viral TikTok video posted by Lavin (@dailydoseofdorilee), she shared the story of her and her husband’s adorable meeting, receiving over 1.1 million views and 111,000 likes, as well as nearly 1,300 comments.

Lavin, 39, told Newsweek the story that began in 2023, when she spotted Sean during one of her children’s sporting events.

“I hung out at my kid’s school hoping to see this hot dad that I believed to be single,” Lavin said in the video. Struck by his presence, she said was determined to learn more about the newcomer to their small community. Little did she know, Sean had also noticed her—but not in the way she expected.

After being intrigued by Sean, Lavin tried to create opportunities for their paths to cross as parents at the same school. She strategically timed her visits to the school’s aftercare program, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sean and initiate a conversation. However, as the days passed and summer break loomed closer, her encounters with Sean were still slim.

Despite the setbacks, fate set its course in motion one day at a school picnic.

“Little did I know [Sean] had a dream of an amazing woman with long, dark curly hair, an energy that simply drew him in the night before…he even told his friends about it the next day in his group chat,” Lavin said. “When he saw me at the picnic, he realized he dreamt of me.”

Lavin persisted in her desire to connect with Sean. Finally, on the last day of aftercare before summer break, their paths aligned, and Lavin introduced herself.

Afterwards, she said, their connection bloomed effortlessly, and even their children formed a quick bond.

In the months that followed, their love story unfolded with remarkable synchronicity, culminating in a proposal and an intimate woodland wedding.

“We planned a very intimate ceremony in the woods behind our home. The woods I grew up in. The woods where I always feel my dad’s energy,” Lavin said. “Imagine our happy surprise to learn the date we picked was 111 days after our first date…We’ve been married now for nearly six months and never once have we had any doubts or regrets, just total fulfillment.”

‘I Manifested Him’

Lavin said that her and Sean’s love story was an act of manifestation aided by personal growth.

“Four years prior, I had written a list of all of the wants I had for a relationship,” she said. “I carried that in my wallet every day for four years.”

At the time of writing it, Lavin said she was in a relationship she knew wouldn’t last. It took years to end the relationship and “open [herself] up” to receive the things she wanted.

Now that she has them, things are pretty great.

“I understand relationships are work to some degree, but it’s truly effortless with him. We speak the same love languages, we have the same vibrational frequency, we are just simply in sync,” she said. “We take the time to show our appreciation to one another, and foster growth while enjoying life and all it has to offer.”

Lavin said she believes it is absolutely possible to manifest the love one wants, all it takes is some faith and precision.

“It’s easy to say you want something in life very vaguely. But action occurs when you know exactly what it is that you want and you stop accepting less,” she said. “Every day, I am thankful that I had faith. Every day I am thankful for him.”