Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images
If you’re doing a first look at your wedding and filming it, you probably want it to go a certain way. The ideal scenario — I’m assuming you’re in a straight couple here — is that the groom immediately starts weeping and falls to his knees, his world completely thrown off its axis by how beautiful his bride is. What you probably don’t want is your future husband to see you, start backing up, and go, “Oh, wow. Okay. Oh, wow. I didn’t think you’d go with the princess dress.” Unfortunately for Olympic track athlete Junelle Lyles (née Bromfield), that’s exactly what happened during her first look with fellow Olympian Noah Lyles.
The Lyleses got married earlier this month at an estate in Georgia and, like most couples, have been sharing a steady stream of content since their big day. Last week, they posted a video of their first look, which we can all watch together:
In the video, Junelle taps Noah on the shoulder, prompting him to turn around. When he does, he backs up and says, “Oh, wow,” before commenting on her dress’s silhouette. “Yeah, this is good,” he stutters unconvincingly. “Dang, that’s a train. And we’re supposed to spin in this?” Later in the video, Noah tries to calm his bride-to-be’s nerves by telling her that he’s seen all of their guests — and then, for some reason, he laughs so hard he has to take a step back.
The video has been viewed 2.6 million times on their photographer’s TikTok alone. In the comments, people tore into Noah. “He didn’t even compliment her ONCE,” one person wrote. “This wouldn’t even be an acceptable reaction from a friend,” shared another. In a video that’s been viewed nearly 4 million times, a content creator named Shawnda called Noah’s response “all critique and no compliments.”
Of course, when your husband embarrasses you on the internet, it is a woman’s wifely duty to get on TikTok and try to explain his side of the story. In a five-minute video posted on Saturday (comments are turned off, of course), Junelle addressed the “mixed reviews” her first look had received. Junelle, who is Jamaican, said that several of her friends and family members had their visas denied, so she was already in an emotional state. To add on to that, five minutes before the first look, she was informed that the person who was supposed to give the first speech had not shown up. Junelle said she was incredibly “overstimulated” by everything going on, and the reaction she got from Noah was “exactly what I needed because he tried to make me happy.”
Junelle said that she was “processing so much disappointment” that if Noah hadn’t gotten her talking, she would have been “shut off” for the whole wedding. “All I wanted was to feel comfortable,” she added. “All I wanted was to laugh, to smile. And he did exactly that.” Well, congratulations to the happy couple!
Stay in touch.
The latest in style, self, culture, and power in your inbox.
Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice
Related