The Story Behind How Paul Walker Secretly Bought This Couple Their Best Gift Ever
Paul Walker might have been most famous for his “Fast and the Furious” movies, but what most people don’t know is that he was actually a great and generous man.
By Sadho Ram — 08 Dec 2013, 09:01 AM — Updated almost 11 years ago
Paul Walker was an actor clearly loved; when his “Fast and Furious” co-stars found out of his passing over the weekend, several of them broke down very publicly in sobs.
And now we’re getting a bit more of a glimpse into just what made the guy so great. A LA jeweler has revealed that Walker anonymously paid for one of her customers’ engagement rings.
It happened in 2004 when Walker was browsing in a Santa Barbara, Calif., jewelry store and he bumped into a couple that was searching for an engagement ring.
There he did something for them that they never expected. They never told anyone about the generosity (worth $9,000) he showed towards the soldier… until now.
stylecaster.com
Soldier Kyle Upham and his wife Kristen were in a jewelry store, searching for a ring, when they saw Paul Walker. They struck up a quick conversation. After the encounter, they went back to shopping.
Kyle Upham was in there with his fiancé Kristen, and they were looking for engagement rings.
Image via viralnova.comKristen saw something she really liked, but the ring was $9,000, and way out of the couple’s more modest price range. Irene King, who was working at the jewelry store at the time, recalled Upham telling his girlfriend, “honey, I can’t afford that.”
nydailynews.comUpham said he barely remembered Walker being in the store with them. They exchanged pleasantries and Upham mentioned that he’d been in Iraq.
He was about to be deployed a second time, and the couple was trying to plan their wedding in between tours. “I remember seeing the look on [Walker's] face. He kind of transformed,” Kristen told KCAL.
today.com
The Uphams left without buying a ring, but then were shocked to get a call from the store hours later saying the ring was ready for them.
When they arrived, they were presented with the ring. An anonymous person had purchased the ring for the couple. The jewelry store workers wouldn’t tell them who’d paid for it, and they initially suspected the store’s employees had pooled their resources.
nydailynews.com
Irene King, a former jewelry store clerk in California, remembers Paul Walker anonymously purchasing a couple’s engagement ring after overhearing them in the shop.
Image via nydailynews.comBut actually, without the couple knowing, Walker had gone up to the manager Irene King and told her to “put it on my tab.”
stylecaster.com
At Paul’s request, the store clerk kept silent and would not tell the couple who was responsible. But after his death, Irene King wanted the world to know how generous Mr. Walker truly was.
Kyle and Kristen kept the gift receipt, expecting it was the star that helped them, but weren’t sure until this moment. Kristen said it was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for her.
“When we hand down the ring through the generations, there will always be a story to tell,” Kyle said.
“His real life speaks volumes of his character,” Kristen said. “He really did put his money where his mouth is and did good for this world.”
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