If we're all being honest, it's pretty likely that the majority of us had a crush on Chad Michael Murray at some point in our young adult lives. Whether you were drooling over Lucas Scott in One Tree Hill or Austin Ames in A Cinderella Story, there's bound to have been a time when you wished you had the chance to meet him.
For 18-year old Alex Wilson, that dream came true.
While enduring three battles with cancer (each of which she won), Wilson used One Tree Hill to get herself through the grueling rounds of chemotherapy.
While being interviewed on the podcast Just Between Us with Bailee Madison & Kaitlin Vilasuso, the hosts gifted Wilson with the surprise of a lifetime: a visit from Chad Michael Murray himself.
During the emotional meeting, there were tears, hugs, laughs and utter shock from Wilson. After the initial surprise wore off, the two discussed how television was able to help them both through their own experiences in hospitals.
Murray talked about one three month hospital stay as a child inspired him to become an actor. After using television to distract himself, Murray decided that he wanted to be able to create the same entertainment for others in his same situation. "That's what I want to do. I want to be an actor someday so that I can give that to somebody else as a gift," he said on Just Between Us.
After meeting her favorite actor, Wilson said, "It was crazy. I even cried a little bit when we walked in. When he shared his story of being hospitalized, it felt really good to make a connection with him. [It] made me feel like he was less of a celebrity, and more of a genuine person just like me."
What started as a simple surprise turned into an emotional connection for both of them. Of course Wilson was glad to meet him, but Murray was proud to see his work touch someone else in the exact way he hoped. "So, you just brought everything full-circle to know that you were sitting there, and watching something that we put our heart and soul into. Thank you so much. That, like, warms my heart, beyond–you have no idea," he said to Wilson.
In a post on her Instagram, Wilson wrote "I swear, I didn’t cry or lose my cool until Chad walked in."
But we don't blame her at all. We would have completely lost it too.
