In 2004, Kyle Upham and his fiancee – now his wife, Kristen, were searching for a diamond ring in one of Santa Barbara’s jewelry stores. The store had another customer in it, but because they were focused on their search, they didn’t notice him at first.
The seller recommended Kyle and Kristen to look at the most expensive items, but they admitted they couldn’t afford such expensive rings. Then they started talking, and the young couple finally realized that the friendly customer was none other than Paul Walker – the Fast and Furious movie star. Kyle told the actor he was in the military and was soon going to fly to Iraq for the second time. But before that, he wanted to buy an engagement ring for his fiancee.
Kristen remembers that Paul’s face changed as soon as he heard that Kyle was a soldier. But that day the couple did not address it, leaving the jewelry store without buying anything. The diamonds were too expensive for them.
But very soon, a surprise was about to await them: they received a phone call from the store and were asked to come and pick up a $9,000 ring paid by a person who requested to remain anonymous. The young couple tried to find out who gave them such a gift, but the store staff smiled, and refused to reveal his name.
The truth was only revealed in 2013 when the actor passed away. Irene King, a former employee at the jewelry store, decided there was no sense in keeping the story secret any longer.
According to Irene, the actor saw that Kristen loved one of the rings, but her fiancé said it was too expensive. Paul then asked the manager to register the ring on his account and insisted that the gift remains anonymous. He was angry that a life-threatening soldier could not afford to buy his fiancee a ring, and he wanted to correct the injustice.
So Kyle and Kristen finally found out who paid for the ring. “To this day, it’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me”, Kristen said. “When we pass the ring from generation to generation, there will always be a story to tell.”