The Season 17 Bachelorette contestant, Michael Allio, won the heart of fans as he made his debut on the show.
He is also a hero to his little boy, James, who started kindergarten this week.
As Michael lost his wife, Laura Ritter-Allio, and James lost his mom to breast cancer at age two, the father-son duo have been extremely close.
Therefore, the first day of school for James was tough for dad Michael as he recalled how much he and his son had been through together.
While Michael has watched James grow up, it was much harder to send him off without James’ mom to see this huge milestone in their only son’s life.
While James looked forward to his first day of kindergarten and was all smiles, Michael pulled himself together to be strong for his boy.
Michael Allio posted photos and videos of James on his first day
As Michael added numerous photos to his Instagram account before James’ first day, he also attached a heartfelt, sweet message to the pictures and videos.
Included in his montage was James holding his first-day sign, waving goodbye to his dad and stuffed animals in the driveway, making his way down the sidewalk to his elementary school, twinning with his dad in the same colored shirt, and wearing his Normal is Boring t-shirt.
Michael Allio captioned his post with a tearful but proud message
Michael declared, “And… I’m wrecked. James was so brave today. I couldn’t be more proud. I knew today would be heavy, but I had no idea it would be this bad. I think it’s because we’ve just been through so much together.”
He then talked about the obstacles and hardships they had to overcome as a family without their wife and mom.
Michael explained that their life together is anything but boring, which is the reason for little James’ first-day shirt; in fact, they refuse to compare themselves to anyone else because normal is boring.
He ended his tearful message to his sweet boy by writing, “Your mother would be so proud of you today. We love you so so much [red heart emoji].”
As James went to kindergarten and Michael dealt with sending his only child to his first day of elementary school, Bachelor Nation is with both son and dad as they venture off into this new journey together.
To watch more of Michael Allio, viewers can also tune in to the upcoming season of Bachelor in Paradise in a few weeks to see if he finds new love.
Bachelor in Paradise premieres Tuesday, September 27, on ABC.