Matt Jacobi and fiancé Nick Caprio just wanted to give their niece a toy that matched their love life.
Their creative doll set may be on its way to adding more diversity to toy stores everywhere.
“They look exactly like you!” 8-year-old Natalie screamed with excitement when she received the same-sex couple doll set her sweet uncles gave her.
Caprio and Jacobi have been a couple for more than a decade and they are planning to tie the knot with their two nieces as flower girls.
Natalie was celebrating her birthday last month and because she loves dolls, the two wanted to give her a doll wedding set.
Jacobi said: “We really wanted to give her something that she could enjoy, but also something that would be meaningful to her and somehow connected to the wedding she will be a part of.”
The two saw the almost perfect set. It had a groom, a wedding cake, two flower girls, and a bride. But every set they found had a bride, which evidently did not represent their reality.
“When we saw the toys in all the aisles, Nick and I looked at each other and had a moment. We just didn’t feel connected to any of them,” Jacobi expressed.
Because they couldn’t find what they were searching for, Caprio and Jacobi decided to buy one of the Ken and Barbie wedding sets and purchased another Ken, ditching the Barbie.
Upon seeing their niece’s reaction, Jacobi wanted to give others the chance to experience the same happiness. He shared the photo of his custom set on social media, hoping to catch the attention of Mattel.
“This toy brought so much joy and happiness to my 8-year-old niece, and there are thousands and thousands of families just like Nick and I. I just had to do something,” he said.
Mattel replied and confirmed to CNN that the company has asked the couple to meet in Los Angeles to discuss their idea.
“We have a confirmed date set in early January, and we are extremely excited, grateful and incredibly determined to make this happen,” Jacobi shared. “We are over the moon with all the positive responses we have received. We really just want to thank all the people out there for believing in our message that love is love.”
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