I Am Weeping After Watching This Woman Gift Her Mom And Grandparents Their First Home

Alexis Johnson, known as @alexis_nikohl on TikTok, is a 31-year-old publicist from Los Angeles, California. A video of the day she surprised her mother, grandparents, aunt, and cousins with a home recently went viral with 4.5 million views.

It starts with Alexis walking around the house alone. The caption says, "POV: You broke a generational curse and bought a house for your whole family (they had no idea)."

TikTok: @alexis_nikohl / Via tiktok.com

You then see Alexis hiding upstairs as her family walks inside. "Come on in," said her cousin, who was in on the surprise. "There's something happening," her grandpa said.

"WELCOME HOME!" Alexis screamed while shooting confetti onto the first floor.

Of course, everyone loses it. Here's her mom:

And her grandmother:

Actually, her aunt just couldn't believe Alexis lied about her whereabouts. "This girl told me she’s going on a trip," she said.

Here are her grandmother's glasses:

And her grandfather:

"Did you know this?" her grandmother asked him. "I ain't know nothing," he said in disbelief.

The video ends with grandma getting down to the nitty-gritty, "How many bedrooms is it?"

In the comments, people were also sobbing. "YOU are your ancestors wildest dreams. YOU DID THAT," this person cried.

"So you mean to tell me that grandma and grandpa get to live with their 2 daughters again like when they were little??" this person asked.

"Grandpa was reflecting and thinking about the generations that would enjoy this," this person pointed out.

"i gotta stop crying about strangers on this app bro," this person confessed.

And a lot of people were encouraged to do the same thing for their families. "I'm saving this because in the next 5 years I wanna be able to do this for my family," this person shared.

"I claim this for myself too, in Jesus name," this person prayed.

Other people suggested more families should come together and build generational wealth this way. "So many families could afford this if we just stuck together... Bless you!" this person said.

"To lift a family, an entire 3 generations into a new/higher economic class, is a strength and love AND purpose that many ppl can't even come close to achieving. Amazing," this person said.

In an interview with BuzzFeed, Alexis shared which family member's reaction to the surprise moved her the most. "Everyone’s reaction made me cry because I love them all so deeply, but my grandmother’s touched me the most because she didn’t think she’d experience living in a house again in her lifetime," she said.

In fact, Alexis said it was her great-grandmother who was the last person in their immediate family to own a home. "It was a home that all her children lived in, even as adults, and their last experience of multigenerational living. When she passed away, there was no true succession plan, and they lost the home. Knowing that history, I’ve always felt a desire to bring the family back together under one roof in her honor."

This is, unfortunately, not uncommon for Black Americans. In 2024, 44.1% of Black Americans owned homes compared to 72.3% of white Americans. The Urban Institute says the Black-White Home Ownership gap is due to "decades of intentional, government-sponsored exclusionary zoning, redlining, and predatory lending schemes," stressing that reducing the gap "is critical to advancing racial equity in the United States."

She posted this viral moment one year after what she calls the best day of her life. Since then, there have been so many special moments in their new home. "Every day has felt like a milestone, but our first holidays were so special," she said.

"My grandpa loves to barbecue, so we surprised him with a new grill for his birthday, and he made all our favorites for the 4th of July. Sitting at one table for Thanksgiving is a core memory for all of us. My mother’s favorite holiday is Christmas, and she is a master decorator during this season, so she went all out."

Alexis shared her advice for other people who are inspired to buy their family a home. "I can’t express the importance of having patience throughout this process, from saving money and finding the right home, to all the paperwork."

"It’s easy to say, 'save money,' but not having a plan for what that looks like will set you back before you even begin. Working with a financial advisor has been a game changer for me in more ways than just homeownership, shoutout to Amber! So if you’re able, I would recommend starting with that."

What do you think? Have you ever considered doing something like this for your family? Let us know in the comments!