Samantha Matthews is being credited with saving her husband, Dan Matthews, after a choking incident.
In a new TikTok video, the pregnant influencer shared security camera footage from the moment Dan accidentally swallowed mozzarella sticks the wrong way.
“That one time I was six months pregnant and had to give my husband the Heimlich…” Samantha wrote via TikTok on Tuesday, September 16.
In the video clip, Dan appeared to be enjoying a nice snack while sitting at the family dinner table when he suddenly ran to the trash can. Once Samantha realized her husband was choking, she sprang into action.
“Basically I was in this insane battle against a mozzarella stick, and Sam was like, ‘Tap me in,’” Dan shared in a separate TikTok. “I was just chewing on mozzarella sticks. Cheese was still attached, so part of the mozzarella stick was down here [near my neck], part was still in my mouth.”
After realizing something was going wrong, Dan said he started gagging. Seconds later, things got a little scary.
@wearedanandsam Replying to @mimiannsorenson we can all laugh about it now 😆
“Then it fully got stuck and I went to breathe and Sam goes, ‘Babe, are you OK?’ That’s when I was like, Oh, this is bad. I’m actually choking now,” Dan shared. “It’s not just annoying and in my throat.”
Although she was in her third trimester, Samantha set the example for her two kids standing nearby and quickly performed the Heimlich. Based on the family’s security footage, it was a success and Dan is safe.
“We laugh about it now but in the moment, it was very traumatic,” Samantha said. “I was so in shock of what just happened, but I had to turn sideways because my belly was in the way. I knew I had to get up under there.”
The couple — who are the authors of Always Choose Adventure and share two children of their own — gained a following on TikTok as they documented Samantha’s journey serving as a surrogate for two couples on their TikTok account, Dan and Sam.
While Samantha previously revealed she was done having children of her own, the influencer announced in April that she is expecting her third child with Dan later this year.
In June, the couple shared the news that they are expecting a baby boy. Notably in attendance at the gender reveal was one of the couple’s surrogacy partners.
“Still feels weird that this baby is ours but we are so excited!” Samantha wrote via TikTok on September 6. “Only 74 days to go! 🥹.”
