Samantha Snipes and Temple Phipps weren’t supposed to be on the same flight back in September 2016.
The two strangers met by chance, but would soon form a unique bond. Snipes would soon give birth, Phipps would adopt her child.
Their meeting was a coincidence. Snipes, who was 24 and eight months pregnant at the time, missed her connecting flight from Atlanta, Ga., to Raleigh, N.C.
READ MORE: Birth mom records emotional video for newborn son to explain giving him up for adoption
Just five months prior, Snipes was in an abusive relationship that she chose to leave for the safety of herself and the unborn child.
“After I announced I was pregnant to him, I thought maybe things would change a little bit and it just got worst,” said Snipes to ABC News. “One night when he put his hands on me again, I was scared.”
According to Fox News, Snipes decided to move back home with her mother to learn how to heal and love herself again.
Fox News also wrote Snipes was considering having an abortion but decided to put her child up for adoption once she gave birth.
“The position I was in, [my baby] wasn’t going to have a very good life. He was going to have a struggling life and I didn’t want any of that for him,” said Snipes to ABC News.
But they say everything happens for a reason because Snipes missing her connecting flight meant she got a standby seat beside Phipps, who was 42 at the time.
In fact, Phipps was scheduled to be on a later flight.
The two women began chatting and Snipes explained to Phipps her current situation, including her plans to give her child up for adoption.
Coincidentally, Phipps she had been looking into adopting a child but said she felt pushed aside by agencies because she was single, according to ABC.
“Every time I would inquire, they said it ‘really needs to be a two-parent household,’” Phipps told ABC.
The two women exchanged numbers with promises to keep in touch.
READ MORE: 11-year-old’s ecstatic hug goes viral after she’s told her adoption is approved
Three days later, Snipes gave birth to her son, Vaughn. She also called Phipps to visit the two of them. Phipps agreed.
According to Fox News, Snipes asked Phipps to adopt her son when she saw the bond between the two.
Almost two years later, Snipes and Phipps remain close and talk daily — Snipes even moved an hour away so she could visit Vaughn.
“I count my blessings every day,” said Phipps to ABC News. “I still can’t believe this happened to me. I am in shock and awe.”
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