A Delta Airlines passenger sat “frozen” in her seat after catching a glimpse of her seatmate’s text message.
The TikToker named Vanessa hopped on the flight from Tampa to New York City, looking forward to returning home to her kids.
But the text message ruined her mood and left her sobbing for most of the trip.
Vanessa sat “frozen” in her seat after catching a glimpse of her seatmate’s text message on a Delta Airlines flight
Image credits: John McArthur
After having a wonderful weekend, Vanessa was eagerly waiting to return home when she stepped onto the aircraft.
But her seatmate rained on her parade shortly after she boarded.
“I boarded the plane, and as I approached my row, I made eye contact with the man in the window seat of my row,” she told The Mary Sue via email.
Image credits: soberspouse
“I could see the man in the window, visibly sigh and roll his eyes,” she added. “That is immediately when my radar went up.”
Within moments of settling into her seat, Vanessa laid eyes on the text message.
“As soon as I sat, I just glanced over, and I saw it. It was right there in front of my face, and after he had to hit send, he sent a series of empty texts to essentially push what he had written off the view of his screen,” she told the outlet.
The passenger was looking forward to returning home to her kids when the text message ruined her mood
Image credits: Oxana Melis
The distraught woman then shared a video of the message with her TikTok followers.
“We’ve taken off, and I can’t stop crying. The man next to me sends one text, ‘urgh HUGE woman sat next to me’ – I saw [because] I have eyes, and now I feel like a prisoner for the next [two] hours,” she wrote in the video.
Hoping to get a boost of positivity from her nearly 5,000-strong followers, she added: “Be kind. If you’re feeling so inclined, can you send me some love? I’ve lost 60+ lbs and have actually been feeling really good about myself.”
Image credits: soberspouse
Vanessa said in her The Mary Sue interview that she didn’t want to cause a scene and said nothing to her fellow passenger.
“I was frozen,” she said. “What this man didn’t know is that I’ve lost 60 pounds in the past year, and I was finally feeling like I could maybe sit in a middle seat.”
“I didn’t wanna say anything because I really needed to get home to my kids, and I was afraid that if I started this conversation with him, I would be asked to leave the plane,” she continued.
“We’ve taken off, and I can’t stop crying,” she wrote in her TikTok video
Image credits: soberspouse
As she stayed put in her seat, she took a few deep breaths and decided to share the incident on TikTok to find some relief.
“I remember thinking I wish I could tell the flight attendant, but I didn’t even wanna get up or move,” she added.
She struggled to shake off her feelings and sobbed in her seat.
Image credits: Tahir osman
“Frankly, the rest of the flight was awful. I cried for most of it, but tried to keep my composure so many thoughts run through your head, but all I wanted to do is get home to my family,” she told the outlet. “There was just this fear of continued judgment.”
Her video, meanwhile, was racking up views and received a flood of comments.
“Send one that he can see- dude next to me stinks so bad,” read one comment.
“I would try to muster every fart my body is capable of,” a second comment said.
Netizens offered plenty of witty suggestions on what to do in such a situation
Image credits: soberspouse
A third wrote, “Yea, as a man, trust me he was texting his mom who he still lives with.”
“You lost 60 lbs?!? CONGRATULATIONS! That clearly took a lot of effort from you… Don’t let the jerk derail you as you are on a JOURNEY!” a fourth said.
Image credits: soberspouse
One commenter said they worked as a flight attendant and wrote, “If something like that ever happens again, please let us know.”
“There are certain scenarios when we may not be able to move you, due to being a full flight,” they continued. “But never hesitate to tell one of us. If you don’t feel comfortable telling us, write it in your notes app and hand us your phone!”
Vanessa’s video garnered 1.8 million views and a countless measure of positivity
@soberspouse♬ original sound – Vanessa | Lifestyle & TTS
After landing in New York City, Vanessa was greeted with a lot of positivity and support from the online community.
With 1.8 million views on her video so far, Vanessa said she struck up conversations with people through her video and was glad to know that many found inspiration in her story.
“They’ve been reminded that you never know what someone else is going through [and] a little kindness can go [a long] way,” she added.
“The way I would make his entire flight so miserable thought,” one commented online
