A video showing a man being a father figure to his partner's children has gone viral on TikTok.
McKenzie Semaan (@mckenziesemaan), 24, posted the video on June 7, spotlighting a series of interactions between her boyfriend, Chavey Harrison, and two sons.
"But I have two kids," Semaan wrote in the text overlay at the beginning of the video. The clip then shows Harrison playing with Semaan's children, and the words "I know" appear.
The video shows Harrison and the kids playing in the park and displaying artwork on the refrigerator. In the caption, Semaan wrote: "I'll be forever grateful for how you changed our lives. The only thing better than having you as a partner is having you as a dad to our kids."
The clip seems to have inspired many other TikTok users, especially single parents who worry about finding a partner who will accept and love their children. It has received 5 million views, 1 million likes and 8,000 comments, with many users calling Harrison a "real man" and saying Semaan had "won at life."
Newsweek has contacted McKenzie Semaan for comment via TikTok.
"I've got 4 kids so I doubt any guy will be interested in a single mom of 4 and the way I have so much love to give to God. This is beautiful and it gives us hope," one user commented.
Another discussed her experience with a stepfather who came into her life when she was 4 years old: "I'm 21 now and I couldn't be more grateful that a man like him chose to be my father despite not being biologically his. He's always treated me like his daughter. I'm so happy you found a man that loves you and loves your kids like his own."
A commenter said her husband had embraced her four children as though they were his own, adding, "We added a 5th and are in our 'happy era.'"
Blended families are increasingly common in the U.S. The Smart Stepfamilies website estimated that about one-third of all marriages today lead to blended families, with many people remarrying within four years of their divorce.
About 85 percent of the U.S. population will marry at least once, and about 75 percent of those who divorce will eventually remarry, the website said, citing 2006 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
In another TikTok video, Semaan surprised Harrison with a positive pregnancy test, and they are expecting a baby girl.
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