A mental health nurse left his fiancé in shock when he surprised her with a wedding ceremony live on The Jennifer Hudson Show.
Brendan Hayes from Cork stunned his longtime love Amanda Murnane after he revealed the couple would be getting married on the top American chat show, which is watched by an average of one million viewers daily.
Brendan told EVOKE: 'She thought we are going to America to get married in a registry office in Los Angeles.'
Brendan - who also works in film and documentary making - told how keeping the secret from Amanda for months nearly drove him mad.
‘I’ve had to keep this secret for months, and I can safely say that it is driving me nuts. It caused me great stress,' he said. ‘We have an incredible bond.
'We have a very simple relationship, and we get a lot out of it. We’re very happy with each other. I could say to Amanda in the morning that I’m going to stag do on the moon, and she’ll tell me to have a good time. We trust each other.’
Brendan said he proposed to Amanda 27 years ago and 'life got in the way', which put wedding plans on the back foot.
‘We’re 27 years together. We got comfortable with each other, and we didn’t prioritise getting married. My mother passed away in May. We were in LA last October, and I thought we would go back again this October because we love the autumn over there,' he said.
Brendan explained how he managed to organise the wedding. ‘We had it booked and then out of the blue, I said we could go to Vegas and get married, but then she said we should get it done in LA instead.
‘She did the paperwork in LA, but one day she said to me that hair and make-up were working out very expensive.
‘I thought about it, and as well as being a mental health nurse, I am also a film and documentary maker. I knew someone in Warner Bros.
‘What I initially thought was, my friend would know a MUA (make-up artist) who would come over to Pasadena for her.
‘Then he came back to me and asked if I was interested in keeping a secret from Amanda and that they would like to organise a surprise.'
Brendan said his friend offered to get married in a surprise ceremony on The Jennifer Hudson Show.
The couple flew to LA on Monday, October 19, with the intention of getting married on Friday, October 23, at a registry office in LA.
‘We booked in for 5pm that evening, but meanwhile we are going to be in the audience of The Jennifer Hudson Show. They will tell us that they are treating us as VIPs because we are getting married.
‘So they brought her in without queuing, and they gave her hair and makeup before the show to make her feel special. Her wedding dress was in the car because we’re supposed to be getting married in the registry office later.’
But on Friday, Amanda was left in shock when she pulled up on stage by host Jennifer Hudson and told they she was instead getting married in front of millions of viewers.
Amanda said she thought Brendan had 'run out of ways to surprise me'.
'I thought I was walking into a TV studio, but I was actually walking into one of the most beautiful moments of my life. After 27 years together, I thought Brendan had run out of ways to surprise me. I couldn't have been more wrong.
'I went to Hollywood expecting memories, but I came home with a husband and a moment I'll carry in my heart forever.'
The emotional ceremony saw the couple exchange vows in front of the studio audience, with a selection of friends and family also watching remotely via Zoom, some of whom made a brief appearance on the show.
Jennifer Hudson, who was delighted to be part of the couple's special day, enthusiastically declared during the recording: 'For the very first time in JHud history, I now pronounce you man and wife,' while adding: 'We did it. We brought a beautiful Irish love story to Hollywood!'
Brendan told EVOKE how he met Amanda in Dunmanway in a bar on a night in Cork and said it was 'love at first sight'.
‘She was from Bantry. I moved to Bantry after a year. I got a job in the hospital, then I went back to college and did my degree in mental health nursing. We’ve three kids together now, and they all knew about the secret wedding.'
Asked if it was love at first sight, he added: ‘For me, it was 100 percent.’
The couple's wedding is expected to air on The Jennifer Hudson Show on November 3.
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