A single mom from Cleveland has social media users talking after she shared her unconventional living arrangement.
Kelsey Will, 32, revealed what it's like to share a duplex with a single dad, Tom, and their kids—a setup she described as "the greatest life hack ever" in a reel on Instagram.
The mom of one moved into the duplex in June and at first knew next to nothing about Tom, who has children of his own.
"I found the listing online for the downstairs unit, and I fell in love with the house. The Realtor I met with told me that there was a single dad who lived upstairs with two kids, that he was really quiet and worked a lot, so she never heard him or had much interaction with him," Will told Newsweek.
Total strangers at first, Will and Tom quickly formed a bond based on mutual support. "If one of us needs something, the other person's right there. If my [stuff] breaks, I can use his. If he needs milk or eggs...I got him," Will said in her reel.
She also recalled one morning Tom's daughter had picture day at school and he didn't know how to do her hair. "She came over to my place at 7 a.m. and I did her hair for her," she said. Will even popped a pimple on Tom's neck.
She also described their friendship as having "no boundaries," and no conversations are off-limits.
"There are no favors that we would view as inappropriate or weird, hence why I helped him pop a pimple. We're not really TMI kind of people; we welcome openness with each other and we have a level of comfortability that you normally only see in family or long-term friendships," she said.
Will was quick to emphasize that their friendship is strictly platonic: "There are no romantic feelings involved, at least not on my part, and I'm pretty sure not on his part too.... We're just buddies," she said in her reel.
Her clip has racked up 1.3 million views, as well as hundreds of comments from other social media users.
"You may not realize it, but you have described marriage," one user wrote, while another encouraged the pair to "stay besties."
Speaking about the reaction online, Will told Newsweek that people have called her a sitcom.
"I think there's a portion of people who are following along to see if we end up falling in love, but there are also a good portion of people who just appreciate the wholesomeness of it all. It's definitely a story-worthy scenario even if it doesn't end in love," she said.
Will asked Tom for his take on the living situation. His favorite part, he said, is how she makes him feel needed and appreciated.
"And sometimes I need her—and I know that I appreciate her so much. Whether it's rides when my car breaks down or helping me with mommy things for my daughter, I never feel alone, even though I am," he said.
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