Couple Drive 2 Hours Every Single Week To Make Memories With 'Earth Angels'

Who says time with grandparents can't be spent stealing cars?

TikTok users are gushing over a video posted by Jadyn Harbin, 28, documenting her wife and grandfather's weekly Grand Theft Auto (GTA) gaming session. Harbin wrote that she and her wife travel two hours together every week to visit her grandparents—and that their wildly different hobbies find matches in their elders.

"While I watch soap operas with grandma," Harbin captioned the video, her wife Kaydyn plays video games with her grandfather.

Harbin told Newsweek about the origins of this weekly ritual, sharing that Kaydyn, 25, and Harbin's 84-year-old grandfather, Didier Figueroa, began gaming together about four years ago. The bond over gaming was a way for Kaydyn to earn Figueroa's trust, she said.

"My grandfather is full of love but has always had a tough exterior," Harbin said. "Partners or people outside of the family have to earn his trust and love. My grandpa and my wife's love for video games was an easy talking point...[he] is a highly skilled gamer and took my wife under his wing."

The pair have become avid gaming partners, playing both in-person and online. Harbin said she is "always nagging" at Kaydyn to end the game: "But when I know it's grandpa she can play all night!"

Harbin's grandfather, a former United States Air Force pararescue jumper, takes his games seriously, she said—and his military background helps him succeed.

"His favorite game is GTA," she said. "He's so good, people log in just to watch him at work...He uses military lingo when in the survivals...I think when he games, it reminds him of his military days. He loves being a part of something bigger."

The Ritual Is Full of Laughs, and a Symbol of Resilience

Despite their four-year repertoire, Kaydyn still longs to impress Figueroa.

Harbin shared a funny incident during one of the duo's gaming sessions when her wife was killed in-game but was too embarrassed to tell her grandfather. "My wife played it off so well and was so happy he thought she made it all the way through," she said. "I remember her saying 'Grandpa doesn't know I died! I can't tell him! I'm not going to let him down!'"

Figueroa knew the whole time.

The instance is just one example of the joy and love Harbin said the tradition invites. Beyond the laughs, though, the pair's game time—and Figueora's frequent victories—echo a long history of his resilience.

Figueroa recently beat cancer, Harbin shared, saying that daily chemotherapy "took a toll" on his body. "But he did it," she said.

"He will do anything for his family and his wife, my grandma of 65 years...He loves beating the odds like he has in life so many times," she said.

The TikTok video, even without this context, has resonated with viewers, garnering praise for its depiction of family bonds and the joy of unlikely hobbies. "The only time a long drive and the money would be worth it. It shows how much she loves you and your family that physical effort is everything," one user said, to which Harbin replied: "Always worth it for our earth angels."

As Harbin's wife and grandfather continue their weekly gaming sessions, their story highlights connections that can transcend age, technology and even bloodlines.

"My wife loves my grandparents like they are her own," Harbin said. "[That is] something I have always prayed for in a partner."