"Is this real?" the woman's husband can be heard saying in the clip, which has since been viewed more than 20 million times
NEED TO KNOW
- Content creator Zoe Piermatteo became pregnant with her first baby after four years of infertility struggles
- Zoe filmed herself surprising her husband, Keaton Piermatteo, with the positive pregnancy test in an emotional TikTok video that has now been viewed more than 20 million times
- The influencer said she hopes sharing her journey helps others experiencing infertility feel less alone
A woman filmed herself telling her husband she was pregnant with their first baby after four years of infertility struggles — and the emotional moment has now been viewed more than 20 million times.
Zoe Piermatteo, a content creator from Texas who makes lifestyle videos under the TikTok handle @zoepiermatteo, first met her husband, Keaton Piermatteo, in 2021 after matching on Tinder.
“Keaton is originally from Florida and was living in Austin, Texas, at the time working on a job downtown,” Zoe, 26, told PEOPLE exclusively.
Credit: Courtesy of Zoe Piermatteo
“I was living with my best friend in San Antonio, Texas. To this day, I still don't understand how we matched. Both of our parameters on Tinder were only set to find people within a 30-mile radius. Austin is about 60 to 70 miles from San Antonio,” she added.
Zoe said she instantly felt that her connection with Keaton, 24, was ”something special,” adding that the pair got engaged nine months later while visiting Anchorage, Alaska.
Credit: Courtesy of Zoe Piermatteo
They had an intimate wedding ceremony in San Antonio in June 2022.
“I remember being so excited he was my husband and so excited for the rest of our days ahead,” Zoe said.
Zoe and Keaton soon began trying to start a family.
Sign up for From the Editor, our free weekly newsletter from PEOPLE's Editor-in-Chief, Charlotte Triggs.
“I have dreamed about becoming a mom since I was a little girl. Throughout your life growing up, people ask you, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?' My answer has always stayed the same: a mom,” Zoe told PEOPLE.
However, Zoe said she and Keaton tried to conceive for a year without luck, which prompted her to visit a fertility clinic.
Credit: Courtesy of Zoe Piermatteo
“When I tell you they ran every test under the sun, they ran it,” she shared. “Ultrasounds weekly to follow the growth of your follicles every month, lab work every other day to follow the progress of your progesterone, estrogen, FSH and LH. Deep research into family history and past medical history. This went on for months.”
“Not only was it physically draining, it was emotionally draining. Everything always came back normal, all within normal ranges of where my body should be,” she added.
That's why Zoe says she and Keaton were hopeful when they learned she had cysts on her ovaries caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
“We thought finally we had an answer. We were hopeful again — excited — ready to move on and keep trying,” she recalled.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Zoe underwent doctor-recommended surgery on her ovaries in January 2024 and went on several medications designed to induce ovulation, but her pregnancy tests continued to come back negative.
Credit: Courtesy of Zoe Piermatteo
“I was on every supplement known to man that was good for fertility. Still doing all of the right things. Life just felt so unfair,” she said.
It was at this point that Zoe's doctor diagnosed her with luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome (LUFS), a hard-to-diagnose condition in which an ovarian follicle matures but fails to release an egg.
“My body still produces a progesterone rise and still grows a mature follicle but never releases the egg to be fertilized. So that makes sense as to why everything was coming back as completely ‘normal,' ” she explained.
“Surprisingly, this news came with a lot of relief but also even more doubt, sadness, anger and that feeling of being completely lost,” she added.
Credit: Courtesy of Zoe Piermatteo
Keaton received a job offer in Florida in 2025, and the couple relocated in March of that year.
“Before we made the move, we talked a little bit about what we should do moving forward with trying to start our family. We both agreed and were in a mindset of if it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't, we will be okay,” Zoe said.
“We just weren't so consumed with all of the doctor's appointments, lab work, ultrasounds and thinking about it 24/7,” she added.
Credit: Courtesy of Zoe Piermatteo
She continued: “We slowly learned to live life with infertility instead of letting it control our emotions every single day. It was still always on the back of my mind, and I did grieve the life I thought we would have by now, but we started to enjoy life again and enjoy each other's presence more fully.”
Then, on March 13, 2026, Zoe received the surprise of a lifetime.
“I told Keaton the night before I was 12 days late and felt like I should take a test just to check the box to make sure I wasn't pregnant, so I could go ahead and schedule an appointment with a new doctor to get me back to ‘normal,' ” she told PEOPLE.
“Being 12 days late was not unusual for me as my cycles weren't always very regular,” she noted.
Zoe bought some pregnancy strip tests while at Target.
“To my complete and utter shock, the pregnancy test immediately turned positive and had two dark pink lines. Two lines we had been praying for all those years,” she recalled, adding, “My immediate reaction was to make sure I got the correct tests. I think I double checked at least four times."
Zoe went back to Target and purchased a stick pregnancy test just to confirm the results, adding that she was “sobbing” the entire way there and back.
“I couldn't wait to tell Keaton he [was] going to be a dad — words he has wanted to hear all of his life,” she remembered.
Credit: @staceyfloresphotography
The content creator said she quickly purchased a few baby outfits and laid them out on their bed along with the positive pregnancy tests.
“It felt like hours for him to get home, tracking him every second on his way home to see when he was pulling in. I had never been that nervous in my entire life,” Zoe said.
“I waited not-so-patiently on the bed and heard the door open. I called him into our room, and as soon as he saw those tests and onesies, he immediately started crying and said, ‘Is this real?' ”
“My response was, ‘It's so real, you are going to be a dad,' ” she continued, adding, “I will never, ever forget that moment. I don't think we let each other go as we sobbed together for at least five minutes.”
Zoe shared the emotional moment in a video on TikTok on April 11, and it has since been viewed more than 20 million times.
@zoepiermatteo
I think time stood still in this very moment. Every trial we faced, every tear we shed, every emotion we felt just stopped. I can see the relief in Keaton’s eyes, I could feel his whole body soften. Everything we had ever dreamed of came true in that very moment. I don’t think either of us wanted to let go of this moment! He’s going to be the best dad in the entire world and sharing this moment with him is something I will never forget 🤍 We went to dinner straight after to celebrate this little life and I remember sitting there talking about who’s eyes this baby was going to have, if it was a boy or girl, figuring out my due date, how we were going to tell our families and everything in between! Never in a million years did I think we would be having this conversation on a random Friday in February! 😭 BEST SURPRISE OF OUR LIVES 🤍🍼 To use this video in a commercial player or in broadcasts, please contact [email protected] @Keaton_Piermatteo #fyp #foryoupage #infertilityjourney #pregnancyannouncement #ttcjourney
♬ original sound – xavier
When asked about her advice for others currently facing infertility, Zoe told PEOPLE that women and couples should allow themselves to honor their difficult feelings and emotions.
“I struggled a lot with depression and anxiety throughout our journey," she said. "I eventually did start talking with a therapist for quite some time."
“I feel like there's a lot of judgment when you tell someone you are going to therapy for infertility. It may sound silly to some, but infertility is frequently compared to a cancer diagnosis in terms of the profound psychological, emotional and social trauma it causes,” she added.
Credit: @staceyfloresphotography
Zoe said that by sharing her story, she hopes others experiencing infertility will realize they are not alone.
“Infertility is isolating," she explained. "It feels like everyone around you is moving on with their lives and living out their dreams while you're stuck behind the glass just forced to watch."
She continued, “I think it's really important to focus on the now. A lot of the time, you are so consumed with the future and the ‘what if's,' you forget that you are currently living.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
Read the full article here
