It's been eight years since Paul Walker's death and since then, Vin Diesel has stepped into his large shoes to be a father figure for Meadow.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 25, 2021. It has since been updated.
Meadow Walker may have lost her dad when she was just 14 years old, but she never had to experience what it means to grow up without a father figure because, after co-actor and friend Paul Walker's death, Vin Diesel stepped into his large shoes and made sure to never take them off. It's been eight years since the Fast & Furious star's untimely demise in a car crash in 2013. The incident had occurred during a collision while filming for the seventh installment of the Fast & Furious franchise. So, when his daughter, a 22-year-old model, decided to get married to actor Louis Thornton-Allan, she knew she could count on Diesel to walk her down the aisle in place of her late father.
You see, that's because Diesel really meant it when he said "I don't have friends, I have family," as Dominic Toretto in the movies. The touching moment when Diesel and Meadow walked towards the altar was shared by the model on her Instagram. Speaking to Vogue, she said, “We couldn’t have imagined it to be any more perfect and personal—and honestly it was easy and simple. Louis and I knew exactly what we wanted from the start. It was a very intimate celebration.”
Thornton-Allan proposed to her after they had quarantined together in London where Meadow was working. "He couldn’t wait for the ring we had been thinking of designing and proposed with a ring I had been given on set that day," she recalled and added, "It was so sentimental and sweet. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
The wedding ceremony was intimate and was attended only by close family and friends. “The pandemic impacted our plans,” Meadow explained. “Louis’s family wasn’t able to attend. A lot of close friends whom we consider family were also unable to attend due to travel restrictions.” For the wedding ceremony that was to be held on the beach, the bride-to-be wore a custom Givenchy Haute Couture wedding dress designed by Matthew Williams and accessorized with Tiffany & Co. jewelry to complement it. Her actual engagement ring was custom-made by close friend Eduardo Saggese at Eclat Jewels. The wedding was followed by a candlelit dinner and the cutting of the cake. “We were all barefoot, dancing in the sand,” says Meadow. “To finish the night, there was a wonderful display of fireworks, and we lit lanterns into the picturesque night sky.”
There's no prize for guessing that the Walker and Diesel family share a close bond, even in the absence of Paul Walker. Meadow spends time with Diesel's family often. She's even shared a selfie of her with Diesel’s children, Hania, Vincent, and Pauline with the caption, “Family, forever.” For Diesel, Meadow is his goddaughter, but Walker is and will always remain his friend, and he never gives up an opportunity to honor him, which explains why his six-year-old daughter Pauline was actually named after the late Paul Walker. In 2015 he told TODAY, "It felt like, you know, a way to keep his memory a part of my family and a part of my world."
Some bonds can never be broken, and Diesel will surely tell Walker all about it when he sees him again!
References:
https://www.instagram.com/meadowwalker/
https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/meadow-walker-givenchy-wedding-dominican-republic
https://www.today.com/popculture/vin-diesel-walked-paul-walker-s-daughter-meadow-down-aisle-t235764
Cover Image Source: Instagram | Meadow Walker
