I wouldn't call this a meet-cute, but this is proof that love can blossom anywhere. A couple met during the weekend of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. And now, they're married with two kids together.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Austin Monfort and Chantal Melanson ran into each other at a bar on the second night of a three-day Las Vegas festival. The two ended up bickering at each other. But this early flirtatious ribbing was an early sign of what would be a blossoming romance.
Chantal said, "I wasn't very nice to him. He wasn't wearing cowboy boots, and I was in Vegas for like a full-blown country festival, so I definitely gave him heck for wearing Vans." However, she still gave Austin her digits, and the two met up at the festival for Jason Aldean's concert.
Fortunately, she still gave Austin her number, and the next night she found herself alone at the festival when her friends decided to do some shopping. That's when the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting happened.
Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting
Austin knew something was wrong, and the couple dropped to the ground. Chantal started to panic during the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, but Austin kept her calm. He said, "She was understandably shocked and crying. I think her freaking out a little bit helped keep me calm. I grabbed her face, and I said, 'You've got to calm down, or else we're not going to get out of here.' And out of nowhere, I kissed her."
The two eventually made it away from the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. They spent the rest of the evening at the hospital getting to know each other.
Austin explained, "I grabbed Chantal's hand. I just tried to pull her out and like run as fast as we could. We ended up going to a hospital in a taxi cab when we sat in the hospital waiting room for like hours and hours and just learning about each other there. That's what created this strong bond from the beginning and the love really blossomed from there."
Now, years later, the couple is married with two kids. They named their first daughter Addison Hope after all they went through.
Chantal said, "Her middle name is part of our story...Live your best life and do what you love to do and enjoy it because you never know what that could be taken away from you."
