Wedding Photographer Makes Bold Prediction on TikTok — 'I'll Be Married by Next Year' — and It Comes True (Exclusive)

• Darian Kaia made a joke dating profile after losing a bet, setting her location to Montana after her favorite show, Yellowstone

• She eventually matched with John Chelini, a custom home builder

• After a short period of getting to know Chelini, Kaia made a bet she would be married by the end of the following year in a now-viral TikTok — and it came true

On Dec. 15, 2023, international wedding photographer Darian Kaia made a bold prediction on TikTok: that she would be married by the end of 2024. At the time, she had been single for nearly five years and had no idea the words she spoke in a now-viral TikTok clip would come true.

After losing a bet, Kaia was forced to download Hinge for a month. Not expecting anything to come from the app, Kaia set her location to Bozeman, Mont. — inspired by her favorite show, Yellowstone. “I made my entire profile a joke,” she exclusively tells PEOPLE. “I was like, ‘I would rather die than meet someone on the dating app.’ ”

Only days into the bet, Kaia matched with a man named John Chelini, who was a custom home builder at the time. Their initial connection was rocky, with Kaia ghosting Chelini a few times due to her fear of getting hurt. However, Chelini’s persistence eventually won her over. “Something about him was so simple and peaceful,” Kaia recalls.

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Within a week-and-a-half of their first conversation, she found herself in Las Vegas, confidently making her prediction, “I guarantee you by the end of next year, I’m going to get married.” At that point, she and Chelini had yet to meet in person.

The couple eventually met face-to-face on Jan. 18, affirming her proclamation. “I remember I hugged him and at that moment I was like: ‘I am going to marry this guy,’ ” Kaia shares.

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Three months into dating, Chelini’s commitment to Kaia became more apparent when he secretly ordered her dream engagement ring. During a photo shoot in Laguna Beach, Calif., Kaia spotted a unique double-stone ring. Without her knowledge, Chelini emailed the designer while Kaia was in the store, asking about the ring she liked.

“He literally ordered my ring three months into dating while I was in the store,” Kaia reveals. “He was just like, ‘I’m marrying her.’ ” The ring was personalized with a blue stone to represent Kaia’s love for the ocean.

As their relationship progressed, the pair moved in together and decided to set their wedding date a year from the day they met in person. However, Kaia’s grandmother, who has brain cancer, expressed doubt about attending their planned wedding — so they moved the ceremony up to the same date Kaia made her marriage prediction.

Kaia calls her grandmother "my absolute best friend, my entire world," adding, "the only thing I have ever seen with my wedding is having her there."

“I'm in the middle of planning a wedding [and] the one person who I want to be there just point blank said, 'I'm ready for my promotion to heaven.' That's how she said it. In that moment I looked at John and I was like, ‘We have to set up a wedding tomorrow.’ ”

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In an effort to fulfill Kaia’s only wish, she and Chelini held an intimate ceremony in her grandmother’s living room this Dec. 15, surrounded by twinkling lights. “It might as well have been the wedding because we literally said vows and everything,” Kaia shares.

Their actual wedding is set for Jan. 18, 2025 — exactly one year from the day they first met. As the pair gear up to celebrate their love in front of their friends and family, Kaia attributes her faith in God to the love she unexpectedly found after losing a bet.

“God’s hands have always been part of our relationship,” she says. “I spent four-and-a-half years building my independence. When the right person comes, they don’t diminish your strength — they complement it.”

Read the original article on People