They marry after the shooting in Las Vegas that took place in 2017. And it is that love sometimes arises after risky situations. Chantal Melanson, from Canada, met Austin Monfort, from California, on September 30, 2017. At the time they were in Nevada for the Route 91 Harvest festival. According to Melanson, when Monfort tried to approach her that night, he initially turned him down because he was with his friends and was not wearing cowboy boots.
«I was with my daughters and I gave her a hard time for not wearing cowboy boots at a country bar,» said the 29-year-old. However, after Monfort asked Melanson to dance, the pair hit it off, ending the night by exchanging phone numbers. On their instant connection, Melanson said: «She was so easy to talk to, it seemed like we’ve known each other forever.» The following night, October 1, 2017, Monfort sent Melanson a text message. She wanted to meet him to watch the performances on the last night of the concert together.
As they watched Jason Aldean perform, the pair heard a series of loud bangs, which they originally thought were fireworks. The sound was actually from Stephen Paddock, 64, firing shots from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel at the 22,000 concert attendees. «We were listening to music, having a good time,» recalled Monfort. «Until we realized that the noises weren’t fireworks, it was gunshots. Then it became ‘Am I going to survive this, how long until the police can stop it and how do we get out of here?’
They marry after the Las Vegas shooting
According to Monfort, he felt a «sense of responsibility» to protect Melanson, as she was with him during the deadly mass shooting and not with his friends. “I felt like I not only had to get out, but also her. Keeping it calm and taking it out kept me calm and didn’t allow me to panic, ”he said. Melanson said she remembers looking into Monfort’s eyes «trying to make sense of it all.» «The next thing I knew, Austin was holding my hand and we were running all over the grounds trying to get to safety,» she recalled.
After the deadly shooting, which killed 58 people and injured 800, the couple remained together throughout the night; before parting ways in the morning to return to their respective homes. After the tragedy, Melanson and Monfort kept in touch, formed a relationship, and finally got engaged in March 2019, before marrying in a San Diego court. According to the couple, who documents their relationship on Instagram, they had plans to hold a traditional wedding ceremony, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus.
«Our wedding was supposed to be on Friday,» they captioned a photo of what would have been on their wedding day. “Even though we didn’t have the wedding, we still wanted to celebrate. We had a wonderful date night in the backyard, with some of our wedding posters, a wonderful dinner and champagne. » «It’s been so positive, we love putting a smile on people’s faces during such an uncertain time.»