A woman proposed to her son's girlfriend and asked to be her mother-in-law

• Catherine Lopez, a 21-year-old college student from Portland, Texas, is close with her boyfriend Ricky Camp's mom, Sabrina Lopez.
• So, close in fact, that when Sabrina proposed to Catherine, she said yes.
• Catherine's tweet about the situation went viral. People don't know what to think about the proposal.
• But everyone involved wants to be clear: this is not a marriage proposal.
• It's just an expression of how close Sabrina and Catherine are.

While some people agonize over meeting their partner's parents, that was never a concern for Catherine Lopez, a 21-year-old college student from Portland, Texas.

Lopez told INSIDER that not only does she get along well with her boyfriend Ricky Camp's mom Sabrina Lopez, but they're pretty much best friends. 

So on June 4, Sabrina took the next step in their relationship and asked Catherine to be her "daughter-in-law." Sabrina proposed to Catherine with a card and her first wedding rings. 

"These were my first wedding rings. I want you to have them for three reasons. 1. I trust you with my son's heart! 2. I want my son to marry the woman of My Dreams LOL. 3. Because … I love you," a card accompanying the rings said.

"It made me laugh but it made me feel happiness," Catherine said of Sabrina's proposal, which she accepted.

The dental hygiene student decided to share her joy on Twitter— where a picture of the rings and the card went viral.

Sabrina said that asking Catherine to be her daughter-in-law was a no-brainer. "Catherine is everything a mother prays for in a woman for their son," she said. "She is genuine, authentic, and beautiful inside and out."

But people online weren't sure what to think about the gesture.

Some found it endearing.

Others were a little confused. It struck them as odd that a person's parent would propose to their significant other for them.

But everyone involved wants to be clear: This was not a marriage proposal. The couple is waiting until after college to get engaged or married — if they decide to do so at all.

"Some people think my boyfriend's mom proposed for him, but that's just not the case, it was a joke," Catherine said. "My boyfriend's mom wanted me to have her first wedding rings because she says, 'I captured her son's heart and she loves me dearly.'"

Sabrina agreed.

"Ricky is an adult who makes his own decisions, including when he is ready to get married. Believe it or not, I don't meddle in Ricky and Cat's relationship," she said. "I honestly wouldn't know when they're having a tiff."

And while the trio never expected to go viral, but they're glad it happened.

"It's been fun and cool having people joke around saying I'm famous or something," Ricky said. "And what I think people are getting wrong is that they're taking it too seriously."

If Sabrina had the choice, she'd do it all again.

"Catherine is a key element to my son's happiness and that's something I value, treasure, and respect," she said. "She and I are all about empowering the relationship between a mother and daughter-in-law or the 'Someday Daughter-in-Law' as I like to call it."

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