Daughters share how their divorced parents got back together in real-life ‘Parent Trap’

Any child of divorce who has seen The Parent Trap has dreamed of concocting a scheme (long-lost twin sibling optional) to get their parents to fall back in love. But the odds of actually pulling it off are, unfortunately, incredibly low. That’s what makes the love story of Julie Shore and Scott Gaede — and the role their two daughters, Rachel and Caroline, played — all the more incredible.

Julie and Scott were married for 17 years before they divorced in 2014. Then, on Dec. 28, they re-tied the knot at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their daughter, Rachel, shared some footage of their wedding day on TikTok with the caption, “Successful parent trap.” She also wrote, “Our parents are officially REmarried and we are no longer children of divorce.”

In an interview with Today, Julie revealed that the family has the COVID-19 pandemic to thank for rekindling her romance with her then-ex-husband.

“It was forced proximity,” she joked. “Neither of us were looking forward to spending time together.”

But when the family decided to lock down together, she found herself genuinely enjoying Scott’s company, much to her (and the rest of the family’s) surprise.

“They were authentically having a good time together,” Rachel added. “And it wasn’t a show they were putting on for my sister and myself. But I don’t think my parents noticed what was happening until late 2021.”

Julie agreed, saying she didn’t realize at first that she was falling for Scott all over again.

“I knew I was laughing a lot more,” she admitted. “No one makes me laugh as hard as Scott…Everything from the past fell away and I realized that family was all that mattered and the four of us needed to be together again.”

At the end of 2021, Julie and Scott moved in together. That was when their daughters started putting the pressure on them to make it official. Scott told Today, “It was around that time that the girls were like, ‘You need to propose.'”

So he did.

Rachel documented her parents’ journey on TikTok, where many people have followed along with the real-life parent trap, and she’s enjoyed their commentary.

“Some people are saying, ‘All that drama between your parents was for nothing,'” she said. “But it wasn’t for nothing. They learned about forgiveness and resilience and growth.”

Julie added, “It’s a symbol of everything we’ve been through. This wasn’t just two people getting remarried — it was a family coming back together.”