Many little girls hope to someday marry their dad. Most don't take the news that it isn't possible as hard as 3-year-old Bella Atkinson did, though.
In a sweet but heartbreaking video taken by her mom, Jenna Atkinson, Bella comes to the realization there is only one "Daddy Matt," and well, he's taken.
The Atkinsons, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, haven't been able to see their Wisconsin-based family much and Bella has enjoyed looking at photos that hang on the family home's staircase. Her mom said one day she noticed a photo from her parents' wedding.
"She said 'You and Dad are married?' I told her, 'Yes, do you think you will get married one day too?' Then, after she thought about that for a while, she got a sad look on her face and realized her dream man -- Daddy Matt -- was already taken. and the conversation in the video is what ensued," Atkinson told "Good Morning America."
Bella and Matt are very close, Atkinson said.
"He teaches her about the outdoors and how to be strong and fearless, but is also always just as happy to be her favorite customer at the 'beauty parlor' to get his nails painted or give her extra kisses in a 'cuddle nest' of blankets and pillows on the couch," Atkinson said. "She runs to the door every time she hears him pull in from work and I'm not sure which one of them is more excited when he opens the door."
MORE: Grandma to the rescue for remote learning: 'They're quite a pair'For now, Bella is content to share her dad with her mom. "As she gets older, it'll be an easier transition to accept she needs to find someone else to potentially marry," Atkinson told "GMA." "He has definitely set a high bar for any other boys that come into her life one day."
Editor's note: This was originally published on Sept. 4, 2020.