A video demonstrating why a woman was left in tears after visiting her boyfriend’s house has racked up more than 6.5 million views on TikTok.
In an August 21 video shared by Niamh Gallagher (@nniamhgallagher), she can be seen smiling in the mirror before showing viewers the inside of a drawer; it is filled with products like makeup remover, sanitary towels, hair spray, deodorant and more.
Although leaving a toothbrush is often associated with making a relationship official, this isn’t the case for Gallagher as she has been with her partner Kieran, 21, for almost three years. The 19-year-old college student told Newsweek that she often forgets items so he took it upon himself to reach out to her sisters to find out what she uses.
“It made me feel very special,” Gallagher, from County Donegal, Ireland, said. “I have always had difficulty feeling like a second option with people in the past, but Kieran’s constant reassurance and gestures like this one show his love is as pure as gold.”
TikTok/@nniamhgallagher
The video, set to a melody with the phrase “when you know, you know,” alludes to the belief that people instinctively recognize when they have found “The One.” Gallagher said she was sobbing when she first saw the contents of the drawer.
Indeed, small gestures go a long way, especially in romantic relationships. In 2018, a group of researchers at Penn State University involved 495 American adults who were asked to assess whether various scenarios would make people feel loved. The scenarios ranged from positive actions, like being greeted by a pet, to neutral situations, such as feeling close to nature, and negative ones, such as possessive behavior.
The findings confirmed that people recognize loving signals in a wide range of contexts, both romantic and nonromantic. While participants widely agreed on romantic scenarios like making love, hugging, saying “I love you,” and holding hands as indicators of love, they also strongly agreed on nonromantic scenarios, such as a child snuggling, a pet’s happiness, or someone showing compassion.
TikTok Reacts
Niamh Gallagher
So far, the video has been a huge hit online with over 1.1 million likes and more than 2,000 comments.
“It’s the little things,” wrote one user, and another posted: “That is literally the cutest thing ever.”
“I’m smiling so hard for u right now, AWW,” added a third commenter.
Gallagher isn’t the only one moved to tears by a heartfelt gesture from a partner. Newsweek previously featured a similar story where a woman, dealing with mental-health challenges, was deeply touched by the small acts of kindness her boyfriend did to lift her spirits.
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