I Planned a Surprise Party for My Husband, but When He Walked In, Everyone Fell Silent

I Planned a Surprise Party for My Husband, but When He Walked In, Everyone Fell Silent

When Maria planned a surprise party for her husband’s 40th birthday, she didn’t expect to find strangers walking through the door instead of him. The shocking mix-up, involving an unexpected Airbnb booking, turned into an unforgettable night filled with laughter and unexpected guests.

Maria invites everyone to a surprise birthday party | Source: Midjourney

Maria invites everyone to a surprise birthday party | Source: Midjourney

My husband’s 40th birthday was coming up, and I wanted to throw him a surprise party. To prepare for it, I told him I would be out of town on his birthday. We agreed to celebrate on another day instead.

On the evening before the big day, I pretended to pack my bags and leave for the airport. In reality, I stayed overnight at my friend Karen’s house.

Maria at Karen's house | Source: Midjourney

Maria at Karen’s house | Source: Midjourney

“Are you sure this will work?” Karen asked, raising an eyebrow as I stuffed clothes into my suitcase.

“Absolutely,” I replied. “Tom thinks I’m going to visit my sister.”

Karen chuckled. “You’re a sneaky one, Maria.”

Jim arrived at his brother's house | Source: Midjourney

Jim arrived at his brother’s house | Source: Midjourney

The next day, I got up early to make sure everything was perfect. Tom always came home from work around 6 pm, so I invited all of his friends and family over at 5. That way, we’d have time to decorate before he arrived.

By 4:45, people started arriving. His brother, Jim, was first.

“Hey, Maria! Need any help?” Jim asked, carrying a box of decorations.

A box with decorations | Source: Pexels

A box with decorations | Source: Pexels

“Sure, Jim. Can you start hanging these streamers?” I handed him a bundle of blue and gold streamers.

Next came Tom’s best friend, Dave, with his wife, Lisa.

“Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself, Maria,” Lisa said, admiring the decorations.

Hand with balloons | Source: Pexels

Hand with balloons | Source: Pexels

“Thanks, Lisa! Can you guys help with the balloons?” I handed them a bag of balloons.

Everyone pitched in. By 5:30, the living room looked amazing. Blue and gold streamers hung from the ceiling, and balloons were everywhere. A big banner that read “Happy 40th, Tom!” stretched across the wall.

Guests gathering in the kitchen | Source: Pexels

Guests gathering in the kitchen | Source: Pexels

At 5:45 p.m., I gathered everyone in the kitchen.

“Okay, everyone, Tom will be here soon. Let’s turn off the lights and hide,” I said, feeling the excitement build.

We all found spots behind the kitchen counter and other hiding places. My heart was racing as we waited in the dark. I held my breath when I heard the key turn in the lock.

Lights off with an open door | Source: Unsplash

Lights off with an open door | Source: Unsplash

The door opened, and I heard footsteps. But then I heard a woman’s voice.

“Do you think he’ll like it?” the voice said.

My heart dropped. Who was she? For a moment, I thought Tom was cheating on me.

The lights flicked on, and the whole room gasped.

Couple with suitcases | Source: Midjourney

Couple with suitcases | Source: Midjourney

Standing in the doorway was a young couple, looking just as shocked as we were. The woman had a suitcase in her hand, and the man was holding a set of keys.

“Who are you?” I blurted out, stepping forward.

The woman’s eyes widened. “Who are we? Who are you?” she exclaimed.

Shocked woman | Source: Pexels

Shocked woman | Source: Pexels

Jim stepped out from behind the counter. “We’re here for a surprise party. Who are you guys?”

The man looked around, bewildered. “We rented this house on Airbnb. We were supposed to stay here for a few days.”

I felt the color drain from my face. “Airbnb? This is our house!”

Woman covers her mouth with a hand | Source: Pexels

Woman covers her mouth with a hand | Source: Pexels

Dave scratched his head. “Tom must have listed it after Maria said she was going out of town.”

The woman looked at me sympathetically. “Oh my gosh, we had no idea. We’re so sorry. We’ll leave right away.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” I said quickly, trying to keep the situation calm. “Let’s just figure this out.”

Woman comforts her friend | Source: Pexels

Woman comforts her friend | Source: Pexels

The young couple, still looking confused, stepped inside and closed the door. Everyone was murmuring, trying to piece together what was happening.

Karen came over to me. “Maria, what’s going on?”

“I have no idea,” I whispered back. “Tom must have put the house on Airbnb when I told him I’d be out of town.”

Sad woman with her head in her hands | Source: Pexels

Sad woman with her head in her hands | Source: Pexels

Tom’s sister, Susan, walked up to the couple. “Hey, why don’t we all sit down and talk this through?”

We all moved to the living room, the decorations and party supplies now feeling strangely out of place. The young couple introduced themselves as Jake and Emily.

“We’re really sorry about this,” Jake said. “We thought the house was empty.”

People talking over dinner | Source: Unsplash

People talking over dinner | Source: Unsplash

Emily nodded. “Yeah, we didn’t mean to crash your party.”

I forced a smile. “It’s not your fault. This is just a big misunderstanding.”

I pulled out my phone and called Tom. He answered on the second ring.

“Hey, honey! I thought you’d be on your flight by now,” he said cheerfully.

Happy man talks on the phone | Source: Pexels

Happy man talks on the phone | Source: Pexels

“Tom,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, “did you list our house on Airbnb?”

There was a pause. “Uh, yeah. I figured since you were going to be out of town, we could make a little extra money.”

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Tom, I’m not out of town. I was planning a surprise party for you. And now we’ve got a house full of guests and a couple who thought they rented our place.”

Shocked man on the phone | Source: Pexels

Shocked man on the phone | Source: Pexels

Tom’s silence was palpable. “Oh no, Maria, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

I looked at Jake and Emily, who were sitting awkwardly on the couch. “What do we do now?”

Tom sighed. “I’m on my way home. We’ll sort this out.”

I hung up and turned to everyone. “Tom’s coming home. We’ll figure this out when he gets here.”

Maria tells her guests everything will be alright | Source: Midjourney

Maria tells her guests everything will be alright | Source: Midjourney

Jake stood up. “We can find another place to stay. We don’t want to ruin your party.”

Lisa shook her head. “No, stay. We’ve got plenty of food and drinks. Join us.”

Emily smiled hesitantly. “Are you sure?”

Girls having fun at a party | Source: Unsplash

Girls having fun at a party | Source: Unsplash

“Absolutely,” I said. “The more, the merrier.”

Tom arrived about fifteen minutes later, looking sheepish. He walked in and immediately apologized to everyone.

“I’m really sorry about this,” he said. “I was just trying to save up some money for a vacation for Maria and me.”

House party | Source: Pexels

House party | Source: Pexels

Susan laughed. “Well, you certainly surprised us, Tom.”

Jake and Emily ended up staying, and the party went on. They were great sports about the whole situation, and soon everyone was laughing and having a good time.

Golden birthday party | Source: Pexels

Golden birthday party | Source: Pexels

“Cheers to unexpected guests and surprise parties,” Dave toasted, raising his glass.

“Cheers!” we all echoed, clinking our glasses together.

Couple holding sparklers | Source: Pexels

Couple holding sparklers | Source: Pexels

As the night went on, I couldn’t help but smile. Despite the chaos, it turned out to be a night we would never forget. And as for the vacation, Tom and I would definitely be taking one, with a story to tell for years to come.

Harrison Ford was married twice before he met and fell in love at 67 with his third wife, actress Calista Flockhart.

Harrison Ford fell in love at 67 with a much younger woman after two failed marriages, and he even adopted her son. The actor felt like a little boy again and gushed over his wife, with whom he lives a quiet life on a farm where they enjoyed spending time in the woods.

Harrison Ford was married twice before he met and fell in love at age 67 with his third wife, actress Calista Flockhart. In 1964, the actor tied the knot with his first wife, Mary Marquardt.

Harrison began working as a carpenter to support their two sons because he wasn’t a famous actor. In 1977, he was featured in “Star Wars” and found fame, but his marriage wasn’t equipped to handle the Hollywood lifestyle.

Carrie Fisher, his “Star Wars” co-star, confessed years later that they had an “intense” illegal substance-fueled affair while he was married. Long after his marriage to Marquardt ended in 1979, Harrison went into union with Melissa Mathison in 1983.However, before tying the knot, the duo failed to sign a prenuptial agreement. The “E.T.” screenwriter and the actor welcomed a son and a daughter, but their relationship was also not meant to last.

The “Raiders of the Lost Ark” star paid a whopping $85 million when he and his second wife divorced in 2004. Their separation was described as amicable, but it was rumored that Harrison had been adulterous.

In 2003, Harrison, then 60, who was usually reserved about his personal life, admitted, “I’m in love” when speaking about his relationship with Calista, then 38. He said romantic love was one of the most fulfilling and exciting kinds of love, adding:

“I think there is a potential for it at any stage of your life.”

The star revealed he wasn’t surprised that he could fall in love and did. At the time, the “Ally McBeal” actress and Harrison had been dating since January 2002 when they met at the Golden Globe Awards.

However, until that interview, the actor had been reluctant to open up about his relationship with Calista. The “Indiana Jones” star was so serious about the actress that he proposed on Valentine’s Day in 2009!

Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford at The "K-19: The Widow Maker" premiere at The Deauville Festival of American Cinema on September 3, 2002 | Source: Getty Images

Harrison’s proposal to make Calista his third wife happened while they were on vacation. The couple didn’t waste much time before making their relationship official and married in Santa Fe, Mexico, in June 2010.

Before the actress began dating Harrison, she’d become a single parent by adopting her son, Liam, in 2001. However, after marrying the actor, he formally adopted Calista’s son, adding him to his other four children from his previous marriages.

In 2008, the star, then 65, confessed that being a father again to a young child “made me just a bit less self-centered.” He revealed how Calista had brought a child back into his home.

At the time, Harrison shared how his youngest child was 17, other than Liam. He reveled in having the “wonderful opportunity” to be a part of a child’s upbringing, which he described as “always an endless springtime.”

The star gushed about seeing how the growing, blossoming, and nurturing were paying off. The People magazine’s 1998 Sexiest Man, Alive’s other two older sons with Marquard were Benjamin, then 40, and Willard, 39.

With Mathison, Harrison had a son Malcolm, then 21, and a daughter Georgia, then 17. When speaking about the sort of mother Calista was, the actor said she was the best in the world!

Harrison Ford, Malcolm Ford, and Calista Flockhart at Smashbox LA Fashion Week Spring in Culver City, California, on October 27, 2003 | Source: Getty Images

He explained that she was a mother by choice and took on a great responsibility when she adopted her son as a single parent. The actor noted how his wife had devoted herself to Liam and was doing a fantastic job raising him.

Harrison shared how he was pleased to be helping with the job of parenthood. However, he noted that he was “naturally” different with Liam compared to his other children because now he was a little more mature.

Calista and her husband were completely in love, and this time around, the marriage might not end in divorce. The couple was so in tune that they had activities they did together, and the actress once had the role of caretaker for Harrison.

Finding True Love and Companionship at 67
When Harrison met Calista in 2002, he wasn’t looking for love. The former explained that there were times when he felt lonely, but he didn’t want to live his life mitigating “against loneliness.”

The actress, who had allegedly dated many celebrities in her past, including comedian Garry Shandling and actor Ben Stiller, had never had an interest in Harrison before. She once confessed:

“I remember loving him in ‘Mosquito Coast,’ but I didn’t really think about him.”

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart at HBO's Official Golden Globe Awards After Party on January 10, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images

On the other hand, Harrison also seemingly didn’t have sights on the actress but recalled watching “Ally McBeal” once in a while before meeting Calista. However, now that they were together, she wasn’t allowing him to watch the comedy series because she didn’t like seeing herself.

In 2003, the couple opened up about the age gap between them. The actress admitted that it didn’t “faze” her, and she sometimes would forget that Harrison was 22 years older than her!

Calista said the age difference didn’t factor into their relationship in any way. Instead, the star liked how the actor looked first thing in the morning; she said he wasn’t handsome but more cute and looked like a “little boy.”

There were also conflicting stories about how the couple met. Some reports claimed that the actress threw a drink over Harrison, but he explained that she didn’t intentionally spill her glass of wine on him.

She said they conversed for around 20 minutes before the wine spilled, and Harrison was the one who did the spilling! In 2015, the couple discussed the mutual activity that they enjoyed together.

Years before, in 2003, Harrison had shared with the public that Calista loved flying. He said it thrilled him because it was important to him, as it was more fun when done with someone who enjoyed it.

The actor shared how the actress liked the process, what she saw from the air, and seeing him happy. He speculated that she enjoyed it most because she loved seeing him do something he loved.

Calista revealed that she had complete confidence in his piloting abilities. She confessed to having been a bit nervous about flying, but surprisingly, when she went to Santa Barbara with her husband for the first time, she didn’t feel any nervousness; instead, the star loved it!

Harrison Ford visits Denver to give some children an airplane ride from Centennial Airport on November 14, 2009 | Source: Getty Images

The actress believed she loved the sport because she trusted her husband, and she revealed they would take Liam flying all the time, and he loved it too! Besides flying, Calista and Harrison tried to be a giving family.

On November 21, 2007, the couple and their son, then 6 1/2, went together to assist in feeding the homeless in Los Angeles. The couple was photographed wearing Los Angeles Mission aprons as they dished up food.

The actors even wore gloves as they taught Liam about the blessing of giving back to the less fortunate. Then in 2015, tragedy struck the family when, at age 72, Calista’s husband was involved in a plane crash and suffered a nasty laceration on his face.

The actor had to be rushed to a local hospital where his wife, then 50, son Benjamin, and daughter Georgia rushed to be by his side. The actress stayed with her husband at the E.R. section of the hospital until late at night after his vintage plane crashed.

The following day, a Friday, she was photographed driving away from the hospital. Calista allegedly looked tired and was seen holding a tissue, but later that day, she returned to the hospital to be by his bedside.

Sources said the actress “looked concerned” when she arrived shortly after her husband. The following morning she allegedly drove Liam to school before returning to the hospital and remaining there to take care of Harrison.

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 10th annual Governors Awards on November 18, 2018, in Hollywood, California | Source: Getty Images

An insider described the couple and their family as normal, “super loving,” and down to Earth. The couple, who waited for over eight years before getting married, whose shared love for flying was mentioned by the source, before adding this about Harrison’s hospital stay:

“This whole thing must be terrifying.”

Ultimately, Harrison recovered from his injuries and returned to his family. The actor, his wife, and his adopted son now live on a ranch where they keep busy with various activities.

Calista and Harrison’s Quiet Life on a Farm
In August 2022, it was reported that Harrison and his family live on a Jackson Hole, Wyoming ranch. “The Fugitive” star’s home boasted 800 acres of land and was located along Snake Rover.

It was revealed that year that Harrison said he had lived there for 35 years. He even confessed that when he was in Wyoming, he had the leisure of just walking out of the door and continuing.

The farm was described as a “personal sanctuary” for the actor, his wife, and Liam. In 2020, it was revealed that Harrison split his time between his Wyoming ranch and Los Angeles home, which he shared with the “Brothers & Sisters” actress.

An undated aerial view of Harrison Ford's ranch in the Wyoming Valley outside Jackson Hole | Source: Getty Images

Besides living quietly on their properties, Calista’s husband kept busy with his career. That year he was back on the big screen starring in “The Call of the Wild,” an adaptation of the classic Jack London novel.

According to reports, the actor also used to own a home in Brentwood, California, but in 2012 he put it up for sale for $8,295,000. The property had been his home for almost 30 years when he sold it.

Harrison bought the Gerard Colcord-designed country Colonial home in June 1983 for a mere $1 million. The house was initially built in 1951, and its 7,164-square-foot space boasts four bedrooms, an additional poolside, a one-bedroom guesthouse, and two separate guest/staff suites.

He put it on the market after buying another mansion with his wife in Brentwood that cost $12.65 million. The property was described as their longtime primary residence in Los Angeles.

When on the ranch, Harrison spent his days balancing his time between doing a little work and a little play. He once revealed that when his chores were done, and there was nothing more pressing waiting for him, he liked flying when the weather was good.

The “Blade Runner” star admitted that he loved flying in Wyoming. However, sometimes he opted to walk in the woods, do some work, and ride his road or mountain bikes.

Calista’s husband also shared that he had chores given to him by his wife, and he was always working on fixing something on the property. He did the home maintenance, worked in his woodshop, or discussed putting in a new roof with some people.

When the “Air Force One” actor wasn’t doing all those things, he enjoyed spending quality time with his wife while raising Liam. In 2010, the star opened up a little about what he did with his adopted son.

Harrison [Ford] shared some things he’d learned over the years to help make his marriage last.
He revealed that he did whatever his wife and son wanted to do on weekends. Sometimes on Sunday mornings, they went hiking, or motorcycle riding, or he and Liam would make a birdhouse, which took him three days!

Speaking about his son, Calista’s husband said having a then nine-year-old child was something he hadn’t expected. The star grinned when he shared that it was also a joyful experience.

He recalled Liam was around six or eight months old when he met him and his mother; they’ve been together since! In 2020, the couple celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary.

Harrison shared some things he’d learned over the years to help make his marriage last. The “Supergirl” actress’ husband joked that it was best not to talk and nod your head.

He also hilariously admitted that he had no idea where his dry humor came from. The actor said he’d never thought about his humorous side and noted, “I see funny, I think.”

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