‘I was broken’: Miracle hamster saves man’s soul, helps with job, finds him new wife, dies

Even fans of hamsters must admit that, as cute as they are, they don’t tend to achieve a huge amount in their short lives. Sure, they’ll run about on a wheel, curl up in a little furry ball, and lick that weird salt thing, but their ability to change the world is somewhat limited.

Well, nobody told that to Popcorn. This Welsh hamster just hit the news, leaving people astonished at how much this little guy impacted the lives of his owners and charmed millions.

The saga began as nurse Chris Williams’ life fell apart. His job was stressing him out, he was feeling existential misery, and his long-time partner had unexpectedly dumped him. As he told the BBC, “I was broken”. But there was one shining pinprick of light in this abyss. His name? Popcorn.

Chris’ eight-year-old daughter Lily had been begging him to buy the family a hamster. He was skeptical, but she insisted, presenting her dad with “hours of research”. Soon this unassuming rodent was in their lives, but Chris quickly realized there was “something different” that set Popcorn apart from other hamsters.

For one thing, it appeared that Popcorn could sense the void gnawing at Chris’ soul: “He was following me like a dog. I got him on the sofa with me, and he fell asleep on my chest. I couldn’t believe it.” Whenever Popcorn was present, his anxiety and misery began to melt away: “It was just a really beautiful thing. It was mindfulness. Being a nurse in the NHS, some days are quite hard and it’s really stressful, but Popcorn would just calm me down.”

Popcorn plays Cupid

The two became so close that their family encouraged Chris to share Popcorn’s message with the world via social media, with their adorable bond quickly earning them a loyal social media following of 140,000 fans. Then, one day, a DM popped up in Chris’ inbox from Carrie, a local woman who thought his content was “cute”.

As Popcorn silently and knowingly watched from his cage, Chris and Carrie’s friendship rapidly blossomed into romance. When Carrie held Popcorn for the first time, Chris said something “clicked into place” for him. The two are now engaged to be married this year, their two families combining into a single loving whole.

But, in a heartbreaking twist, Popcorn isn’t around to don a tiny tuxedo and crawl down the aisle with the ring glued to his back. A hamster’s life is brief, and he passed into hamster heaven soon after introducing the couple to each other. Even so, we have zero doubt that Popcorn is gazing down from a fluffy cloud in the great beyond, nodding his little head in satisfaction: a life saved, a family united, a world made happier. Mission more than accomplished for a single rodent.