Woman Captures the Perfect Photo of a Seagull, Not Realizing What's Happening Behind Her (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Katie Tucker taking photo while her boyfriend proposes.Photo:Katie Tucker

Katie Tucker

Katie Tuckerand her boyfriend Elijah Fulkerson had been talking about getting engaged for more than a year. But when Fulkerson eventually got down on one knee in February, Tucker’s focus was elsewhere.

The proposal unfolded while the couple, who met when they were 16, were in Oregon for Valentine’s Day visiting Fulkerson’s family. On the first day of their trip, Fulkerson’s parents took them to the coast, where the group stopped at a beach called Yaquina Head, which features picturesque scenery and a lighthouse.

While on the beach, Tucker and Fulkerson, both 21, were walking when Tucker saw some seals in the water, so she started recording them. While recording the seals, a seagull started flying in front of her, and she began filming that for about two minutes.

The photo Katie Tucker took of the seagull.Katie Tucker

“The seagull caught my attention when he was flying low in front of me. I thought it was so cool to get that on camera, then he landed and was making funny noises, and I just had to record it,” Tucker tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I’m an animal lover!”

“All I was thinking about while recording the seagull was how beautiful such a little creature could be, and the seagull kept making noises like it was trying to talk,” Tucker adds.

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Katie Tucker taking photo while boyfriend proposes.Katie Tucker

But as Tucker stood recording, she heard Fulkerson’s mom and stepdad behind her saying, “Katie, look!” Upon hearing this, she responded, “I am looking, I’m taking a video!” It’s was so windy, and she could barely hear, so she thought they were talking about the animals.

Finally, she heard her boyfriend say, “Katie, let’s take a photo.” When she turned around, he was on one knee, asking her to marry him. “I burst into tears and said yes!” Tucker, a full-time bank teller living in Elizabethtown, Ky., says.

Katie Tucker realizes boyfriend is proposing.Katie Tucker

“He thought it was so funny I was just recording this random seagull while he was trying to propose, but he wasn’t surprised,” the bride-to-be adds. “He knows how much I love animals, so it was very on point for me and who I am.”

“I would not go back and change a thing! I think the imperfections of the proposal made it perfect, it made it us,” she says.

Katie Tucker after getting engaged.Katie Tucker

Not long after the proposal, Tucker posted a collage of the photos toTikTok, where she explained more about the memorable moment. But then, the video went viral, amassing more than 6.8 million views.

“My family was not surprised at all,” she continues. “They all know how much I love animals too so they found it hilarious that’s how the proposal went. It was very typical of me.”

Although it’s been more than three weeks since the proposal, Tucker says she and Fulkerson still laugh about the moment every day.

“The proposal meant everything to me,” she says. “He did so perfect finding such a beautiful location to do it at. I think that moment he just knew this is the girl he loves and this is why he’s proposing. A girl who loves animals and people so much.”

“I think every time I see a seagull now I get to look back at the day my fiancé asked me to marry him and I love that. A constant reminder,” she adds.

source: people.com