Noah Lyles had an underwhelming reaction to seeing his wife, Junelle Bromfield, in her wedding dress for the first time, prompting criticism online.
Earlier this week, Bromfield, 28, posted a video on TikTok of her and Lyles’s first look from their April 4 wedding day. During the tradition — where the bride shows off her gown to her groom in an intimate moment alone before the ceremony — Lyles, 28, clad in a brown tuxedo and bowtie, stood with his back turned to Bromfield awaiting the big reveal of her wedding dress.
After Bromfield tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around to see his bride in a beaded white ball gown. “Oh wow, OK,” he said. “Oh wow. I didn’t think you’d go with the princess dress.”
“Why?” she responded, before he looked at the back of her dress and said: “Damn, that’s a train! And we’re supposed to spin in this?”
After Bromfield confessed that she was feeling nervous, the Olympian reassured her by saying the guests at their luxurious Trenton, Georgia venue looked “good” and that the day was going to be “super fun.”
The TikTok video has since gone viral online, garnering more than two million views. In the comments, many people have criticized Lyles for not complimenting his wife’s gown.
“Did I miss him saying, ‘you look beautiful?’ one wrote, while another added: “‘Oh wow, OK’ is crazy.”
“As an overthinker, this reaction would ruin my whole day, and more,” a third commented.
The criticism of Lyles’s reaction extended to the popular Fauxmoi Reddit thread, where one person commented, “No one’s expecting him to immediately get on his knees, sob, and say she looks beautiful and he’s the luckiest man ever. His first few sentences were criticism.”
“‘I didn’t think you’d go with the princess dress’ before you look STUNNING??? I’d walk away right there, but that’s me,” another wrote.
However, other people gave Lyles the benefit of the doubt, describing how much pressure a bride and groom can feel on the big day. “These scenarios are awkward as hell, it’s a lot of pressure, and you’re being recorded. It isn’t the best, but it’s okay,” one wrote about the first look.
The Independent has contacted Lyles for comment.
Bromfield addressed the criticism in another TikTok video, explaining there was “a lot going on” the morning of her wedding. She said she was “holding back tears” and trying to cheer herself up during the first look after learning that many of her friends couldn’t attend the wedding.
She added that she was “overstimulated” at the time, so Lyles’ reaction to the dress was just what she needed.
“He tried to make me happy. He tried to make me talk,” she said. “If he did not do that, I probably would’ve been shut off the whole wedding because I was processing so much disappointment, mentally and emotionally.”
The track star also addressed Lyles’ remarks about her wedding dress, noting that she originally told him he was going to wear a mermaid dress because she loves a tight-fitting look. However, she chose a different look for the ceremony because Lyles “hates” that style.
“He was very surprised that I was in a princess dress, but he liked it. And this is something that we talked about,” she added, before explaining that she had three looks for her wedding day, including a mermaid dress.
The track stars got engaged in October 2024, after two years of dating.
