I bet $20 that I would marry my high school crush—

2024-08-27
Posted by PSEDEN

This guy loves to gamble—and he just won big.

Newlywed Cade Wessel is a little better off now, thanks to a bet he made six years ago on his high school yearbook.

“20 bucks I’m marrying Sarah Diehl,” the 2018 senior from Bradenton, Florida, captioned his graduation photo, saying he believes he will one day marry his new girlfriend of just two weeks.

Fortunately for this adventurous romantic, the odds of success are in his favor.

Wessel, now 24, and Diehl tied the knot on April 27 of this year — six years after Wessel’s big bet.

“I was the happiest man in the world that day,” the newlywed construction worker told JFK News.

After exchanging vows with Diehl, an aspiring wildlife biologist, Wessel brandished a pristine dollar bill with an Andrew Jackson mug on it as they walked hand-in-hand down the aisle as husband and wife. His video of his triumphant wedding day has been viewed more than 18.6 million times on Instagram.

“We got the perfect picture,” Weisel said, “and I made $20.”

Rolling the dice before saying “I do” obviously makes the big day more fun.

Pennsylvania bride Jennifer Hanks, 31, lost a Super Bowl bet with husband Patrick, 28, before their wedding. But instead of winning the money, the groom was allowed to wear a Philadelphia Eagles jersey when they exchanged vows.

“A bet is a bet,” Patrick, who proudly wore a Carson Wentz jersey at the wedding, playfully told The Washington Post.

However, New York couple Nova and Reemo Styles asked 60 friends and family to risk $333 each to buy a ticket to their unconventional wedding in June 2023.

After encouraging paying participants to “trust the process,” the two guests told The Washington Post, they treated guests to a chauffeured tour of Big Apple landmarks and a lavish lobster and steak reception dinner at One World Trade Center.

Thanks to this money-saving method, the Styleses saved $70,000.

Yet money wasn’t the last thing on Wessel’s mind as he prepared to marry his high school sweetheart — he proposed to her with an emerald-cut diamond ring during a sunrise hike in Hawaii.

“At my bachelorette party, we talked about my graduation quote,” Wessel told Kennedy. “A friend said, ‘When you walk down the aisle after graduation, I’ll give you $20.'”

“I forgot about it because I was so busy planning.”

But the memory of making this solemn claim soon flooded back upon the mind of this brave man.

“Teachers wrote us these things out of the blue at the last minute,” recalled Wessel, who had to write meaningful messages under his yearbook photo at Lakewood Ranch High School.

“I didn’t say anything profound like some of my friends did,” he added. “I was just thinking about Sarah, and I knew I was going to marry her, and I thought ‘this is going to be cool later’.”

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Wessel said. “I just wanted to see if they would print it.”

The two teenagers had only been dating for a short time at the time. They met as classmates in a sixth-grade “gifted” class in 2011. Diehl had just transferred to another school.

But mutual friends of the couple were eager to inform her of Wessel’s bold move.

“I was stunned,” said Diehl, who was immediately bombarded with SnapChats about Wessel’s $20 bet after the yearbook came out. “He was so confident at first.”

“Seeing that picture, it felt like a full circle moment for us,” added the bride, who is currently enjoying a two-year honeymoon in Asia and Australia with Wessel.

“The wedding was one of the best days of my life,” she said excitedly, “Finally, we got married in front of our family and friends, and our promise came true.

“It felt like a romantic comedy.”