Husband Couldn’t Taste Their 'Gender Reveal' Milkshake. But His Wife’s Reaction Said It All (Exclusive)

When Sarah Smith and her hubby Eli recovered retired they were expecting their first kid connected Jan. 7, nan upstate New York-based mates — on pinch their families — were complete nan moon.

As nan weeks passed, preparations for nan activity uncover began. Sarah, 28, started searching online for low-key uncover ideas. One successful peculiar caught her eye: utilizing milkshakes.

The infinitesimal she saw it, she recalls thinking, “This is it.”

“We’ve ever tried to support large moments betwixt conscionable nan 2 of us, astatine slightest astatine first,” Sarah tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It conscionable felt much playful and different.”

The uncover happened during a skis travel pinch friends successful Bozeman, Mont. — a spot that already holds heavy meaning for nan couple. It’s wherever they honeymooned, and wherever they were legally joined by proxy while Eli, 30, was stationed overseas.

For nan reveal, they went to a section spot successful Bozeman called Burger Bob’s. Once there, they explained nan business to their waitress, Brittney. The instructions were simple: strawberry for a girl, peanut food for a boy. One shake, 2 straws, tons of whipped cream.

Sarah handed Brittney a sealed letter cover pinch nan results from their humor test. “She was wholly into it and really made it special,” Sarah says.

Not agelong after, Brittney returned pinch nan milkshake. After 1 sip, Sarah tasted strawberry and recalls emotion overwhelmed, successful nan champion way. But for Eli, nan infinitesimal played retired a small differently.

“I thin to clasp worldly successful erstwhile I’m processing large emotions, and successful that moment, I had for illustration a cardinal things going connected successful my head, my straw wasn’t working, I was trying to publication her reaction, I wasn’t moreover judge if I’d tasted thing yet,” he tells PEOPLE.

“But what really stopped maine was her face. I’ve seen her happy plentifulness of times, but this was different. It was earthy joy,” he adds. “And knowing she’s had immoderate nerves astir gestation and everything that comes pinch it … to spot each that melt distant and conscionable beryllium replaced by that overmuch happiness, it was truthful saccharine to see. I’ll ne'er hide it.”

Sarah filmed nan infinitesimal mostly to seizure nan representation for nan brace and to stock pinch family. She hadn’t planned to station it publicly, but aft sending it astir to a fewer people, she uploaded it to TikTok, wherever she usually saves saccharine memories.

Then nan video went viral, amassing much than 8.1 cardinal views and 2,400 comments.

“It was wild,” Sarah says. “I posted it and past conscionable … walked distant from my phone. When I came back, it had each these views and comments, and it conscionable kept going. We hadn’t moreover told each our friends we were expecting yet, truthful abruptly we were like, ‘Okay, clip to make immoderate calls earlier group find retired from TikTok.’ Friends, coworkers, moreover group we hadn’t talked to successful years were texting like, ‘Wait, is this you?!’ ”

“Honestly, it’s been really positive,” she adds. “People look to emotion nan idea. A fewer comments were funny aliases moreover a small snarky, but thing that bothered us. We conscionable laughter astir it. Some group are convinced Eli looks disappointed, which … he wasn’t. But it’s benignant of hilarious to spot nan interpretations.”

Now 25 weeks along, Sarah says that while nan first trimester was tough, she’s been enjoying nan remainder of nan pregnancy. She’s staying active, and everything conscionable feels much meaningful.

“Every kick, each ultrasound, it gets maine affectional each time," Sarah says. "I emotion mounting up her room, shopping for babe clothes, each of it.”

“No measurement I could’ve waited until nan commencement — I really wanted to know," she adds of nan baby's sex. "I was hoping for a girl, truthful uncovering retired early felt important to me.”

The mates already has a sanction picked retired but plans to support it backstage for now. But erstwhile it came to sharing nan activity pinch nan world, Sarah says she’s gladsome they did.

“In a world wherever everything feels for illustration it has to beryllium shared aliases staged for an audience, this was a reminder that intimacy and authenticity still matter," nan mom-to-be says. "It doesn’t person to beryllium cleanable aliases spell viral to beryllium special. What made that milkshake infinitesimal unforgettable wasn’t nan setup, it was nan emotion down it."

"The joy, nan nervousness, nan genuine surprise. We weren’t acting for anyone," she adds. "We were conscionable afloat coming pinch each other, and I deliberation group could consciousness that."