Two women first met in a flight to North Carolina. Little did they know that it is an encounter of a lifetime. Samantha Snipes got pregnant with the child of her ex-boyfriend. In a lengthy blog post in Love What Matters, she revealed what happened to her in 2016 when she was just 24 years old. Finding out you are pregnant out of wedlock at 24 is probably scary for any woman.
Frightened and distraught are the words that best describe Samantha’s feelings back then. Her ex-boyfriend got her pregnant and the future is grim for them and their child. She said that relationship was abusive and it did not get better. However, she needed to find a way to protect herself and her child.
She confessed that she was thinking of leaving him even before she found out that another human being is growing inside her.
“… sadly the abuse never stopped and as time went on, he became even more aggressive. I know what most of you must think. ‘Why didn’t you just leave?’ I’m not quite sure I know the answer. I had been in an abusive relationship before and had stayed in that one much longer than I should have,” she wrote.
This is a common problem in some abusive relationships wherein the victim cannot find the courage to say “enough” and leave the relationship.
Samantha finally made up her mind and called her mother explaining her situation. Her mother immediately booked her a flight to Arkansas so she can escape. She left her abusive boyfriend and never looked back since.
However, she has to deal with the child inside her. “I felt completely disconnected and lost. I didn’t feel worthy of bringing a child into this world or trying to care for him or her when I was still trying to learn how to love myself again. With my emotions on such a roller coaster ride, partly from being 3 months pregnant, I was considering abortion,” she continued.
Everything is in shambles until she met a guy online. They dated virtually and she revealed her situation to him. He was living in North Carolina and while she was eight months pregnant, she flew to meet him.
She missed her flight and got on the next flight and seated next to a woman who befriended her. The woman is Temple Phipps who was also flying to North Carolina. Temple listened and was touched by Samantha’s story prompting her to give her number to Samantha and told her to call her if she needed any help. Temple already showed interest to adopt the child.
“She was such a great person; she waited with me to make sure I was safe. She knew I didn’t know anyone else in the area and before we parted ways, she gave me her number. She told me to call should I ever find myself in trouble, in need of anything or if I wanted to talk more about adoption,” Samantha gushed about Temple.
Three days later, Samantha had premature contractions and she delivered the baby. Once again, Samantha was confused. She was away from home and spending some time with her boyfriend she had seen for the first time. In short, no plans!
In the hospital, she remembered Temple and gave her a call. To her surprise, Temple arrived in the hospital and came to the aid of herself and her baby.
“That’s when the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ appeared. I thought as I watched them, ‘Temple would be perfect for him.’ We talked while she was there visiting and during our conversation I asked Temple if she would like to adopt my son as her own.
She was caught so off-guard. She was in disbelief that I even asked her, a stranger, but a stranger that felt more like family to me than anyone. After the shock wore off, Temple accepted my offer. We were full of emotion, crying in happiness,” Samantha wrote.
Temple also helped Samantha with her finances until she can get back on her feet. Right now, she lives in North Carolina with her boyfriend (yes, the one she met online) close to Temple and her son, which Temple named Vaughn.
Watch their story below via Inside Edition:
Photo credit: Samantha Snipes