One of the heroes of the Las Vegas mass shooting has found love in the arms of the girl he saved from a hail of bullets at the Route 91 Harvest festival, DailyMailTV can reveal.
In an exclusive interview country singer Bryan Hopkins, 49, reveals how he fell for Nicole Ruffino, 25, after he helped her and a friend to safety while guiding dozens of other terrified concert-goers to hide in a fridge unit at the event.
As Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel killing 58 people and injuring a further 851, Hopkins jumped into action putting himself in the line of fire to aid concertgoers over a fence to safety on October 1 last year.
Now Bryan and Nicole share their heart-warming story with DailyMailTV ahead of the first anniversary of the massacre – revealing their journey from hiding in a fridge as bullets rained down on them, dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy and the trauma of seeing so many killed, to falling in love and wanting to spend the rest of their lives together.
And for both, the events that day have changed their lives forever.
Country singer Bryan Hopkins tells DailyMailTV how he fell for Nicole Ruffino after he helped her to safety while guiding dozens of other terrified festival-goers to hide in a fridge unit when Stephen Paddock opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas last October 1
Now Bryan, 49, and Nicole, 25, (in a photo Nicole posted on the day of the mass shooting) share their heart-warming story ahead of the first anniversary of the massacre – revealing their journey from hiding in a fridge as bullets rained down on them, dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy to falling in love and wanting to spend the rest of their lives together
Video taken inside the metal fridge unit shows Nicole cowering next to Bryan (pictured), who recorded a farewell message for his parents in case something terrible happened
Realizing it was a shooter, calm Bryan grabbed Nicole and her friend by the hand and led them to a large refrigerator truck trailer backstage. He then helped several others take refuge from Stephen Paddock’s bullets in the fridge (pictured)
Bryan, lead singer of Elvis Monroe, explained: ‘October 1 will always stay with us because of that horrific tragedy, but now this first anniversary is not just about remembering those that lost their lives, but celebrating how lucky I am to have met Nicole.
‘This sickening event has changed my life for the better having brought Nicole in my life.
‘People ask if we would be together if had not have taken place, and I always say no.
‘I always remember telling Nicole that night I would always be there for her, as words of support in that situation – but now those words have taken on a new meaning.
‘It really was like the key moment in my life. I held her hand and fell in love with her instantly.’
Nicole added: ‘We both remain devastated by the events of that night, but we cannot ignore that it has brought us together – and changed my life forever.
‘Bryan did save me that night, but in the next few months I fell in love with a warm, caring, creative man – and I am grateful for that.
‘He loves me unconditionally, and for a while I always wondered why he was interested in me given that he is successful artist and I am not in the entertainment business.
‘But I always remember he said to me: ”I don’t care if you work at Taco Bell – it is not what you do, it is who you are.”’
Bryan also reveals how he came close to losing the love of his life a second time when she was hospitalized with live-threatening viral meningitis a month after the Vegas attack.
The road to love hasn’t been easy for the couple, as Nicole spent time in intense care after contracting viral meningitis (pictured) and they both suffer from extreme nightmares
Bryan said: ‘I always remember telling Nicole that night I would always be there for her, as words of support in that situation – but now those words have taken on a new meaning. It really was like the key moment in my life. I held her hand and fell in love with her instantly’
The couple were virtual strangers as they stood alongside one another watching musician Jason Aldean perform on stage at the Route 91 festival. They had met in the crowd and decided to hang out while watching the concert but weren’t prepared for what was coming next
The couple were virtual strangers as they stood alongside one another watching musician Jason Aldean perform on stage at the Route 91 festival.
They had met in the crowd and decided to hang out while watching the concert but weren’t prepared for what was coming next.
Moments after Aldean had played their favorite song Little More Summertime, fire cracker sounds filled the air before people around them began falling to the ground.
Realizing it was a shooter calm Bryan grabbed Nicole and her friend Nicole Yorba by the hand and led them to a large refrigerator truck trailer backstage.
He then helped several others take refuge from Stephen Paddock’s bullets.
He recalls: ‘It was crazy, you could hear the sound of gunfire, crack, crack, crack, crack, but we didn’t know where it was coming from. People were running, screaming.
‘I wanted to get everyone to safety but rather than run with the crowd I took people backstage.’
Video taken inside the metal fridge unit shows Nicole cowering next to Bryan, who recorded a farewell message for his parents in case something terrible happened.
Five minutes later he decided to lead the group away from the danger zone.
The quick-thinking singer grabbed their hands and ran ‘as fast as we could’ into the dark in the direction of the Strip.
Bryan persuaded around 30 people to follow him to flee the area.
Seeing a ramp leaned against the top of a fence, he aided more concert-goers to escape the boundaries.
Around them they noticed victims and dead bodies.
Moments after Aldean had played their favorite song Little More Summertime, fire cracker sounds filled the air before people around them began falling to the ground. Realizing it was a shooter calm Bryan grabbed Nicole and her friend Nicole Yorba by the hand and led them to a large refrigerator truck trailer backstage. Pictured: Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock
The quick-thinking singer grabbed their hands and ran ‘as fast as we could’ into the dark in the direction of the Strip. Bryan persuaded around 30 people to follow him to flee the area. Pictured: People scramble for shelter as bullets rained down on them
Seeing a ramp leaned against the top of a fence, he aided more concert-goers to escape the boundaries. Around them they noticed victims and dead bodies. Pictured: Festival goers flee the scene after the mass shooting
Bryan was hailed a hero after the massacre, appearing on several network TV shows recounting what happened. Pictured: Broken windows at the Mandalay Bay hotel show where the gunman opened fire from
The group ran a little over a mile to Hooters, where Nicole remembers meeting up with another distraught friend, covered in dirt and blood, but safe.
Nicole recalled: ‘When I was in the fridge initially I didn’t think about death, but as the minutes ticked by the severity of the situation and the fact we didn’t know where gun shots were coming from, there could be a good chance I would not see my family and friends and everyone.
‘As I ran away it hit me. I felt the need to call my parents and as soon as my dad answered the phone I just lost it.
‘I collapsed in terror, but Bryan was there making sure I kept moving.’
Bryan was hailed a hero after the massacre, appearing on several network TV shows recounting what happened.
But soon after his focus switched to supporting the #Vegasstrong movement and holding Nicole’s hand again.
‘It felt like the most natural thing to hold her hand again as we did some interviews together.
‘It was subconscious and I truthfully have never wanted to let it go.’
Nicole and her family then joined Bryan as his band Elvis Monroe played the first #Vegasstrong event at the RedRock Casino on October 5.
That night he debuted his song The Fight, which has become an anthem for relatives of the dead and survivors.
Nicole, who broke down in tears next to Bryan on stage that night, said: ‘I wanted to support Bryan especially given what this song meant and its importance for everyone. I was determined to show Bryan how grateful I was for what he did, but something I had to attend even though it was so emotional.
‘That night something inside me felt like I had known him my whole life. And there was a natural attraction too, but with all the other emotions of that time and what we were all going through, love was not on my mind.’
Nicole and her family joined Bryan as his band Elvis Monroe played the first #Vegasstrong event at the RedRock Casino on October 5. That night he debuted his song The Fight, which has become an anthem for relatives of the dead and survivors. Nicole, who broke down in tears next to Bryan on stage that night (pictured)
For the next few days Bryan and Nicole enjoyed dinners and bonded over board games with her roommate Lindsay.
Then on October 13, when the band played the Nashville Unplugged night at the Mandalay Bay, things changed forever.
Nicole said: ‘I wanted to see him, but I was anxious about heading back to that hotel.
‘One because it was where the tragedy happened and again my emotions were running high about everything – from coping with what happened to meeting this amazing man.
‘Even though he was a performer that night, he met me in the parking garage for reassurance, held my hand and walked me in. Later as we watched the acts, he had his hand on my leg.
‘People kept leaning in and saying ‘You are Nicole – you are his echo’ – a reference to something Bryan had said on TV about my friend and I Nicole being his echoes.
‘After he walked me back to the car, opened the door for me, just smiled and gently leaned in to kiss me.
‘I was taken by surprise that I just naturally leaned in to him. It was pure impulse for both of us. I never saw it coming, but my instincts just knew it was right. We kissed again moments later as he sat in the passenger’s seat.’
The pair then began casually dating, but kept it secret. They say that a mutual love of poetry fueled their relationship.
Nicole added: ‘I usually am a guarded person, who doesn’t show too much of my emotions. But I felt I had a compulsion to write my thoughts down about what was happening to us through poetry.’
Bryan smiled: ‘Poetry may not be the coolest thing in the world, but for me it is one of my favorite forms of art.’
The pair then began casually dating, but kept it secret. They say that a mutual love of poetry fueled their relationship forward
He continued: ‘I have always written poems like songs, so to learn that Nicole loved this medium too made me certain things were meant to be.
‘In response I would write a song inspired by her words and emotions; it turned into one of the most creative times of my career which gave me five songs.’
Grinning he added: ‘She could have run for the hills given how intense the songs were – luckily she didn’t.’
However, in November tragedy struck Nicole again.
She had been suffering fevers, extreme fatigue for weeks, kidney infection and numb legs.
After three visits to the ER, she was rushed into hospital, where she was diagnosed with viral meningitis.
Specialists treated her for the brain infection as well as giving her three spinal taps during her week long intense care.
Bryan says: ‘I was terrified I was going to lose her.
‘I was torn up inside after what we survived weeks earlier that this cruel twist would take her away from me.
‘I always went back to my promise that I would be there for her, but this time I felt helpless.
‘The doctors did an amazing job, but had we not caught this early who knows if she would be with us today.
‘Again I found myself holding onto her hand, assuring her that everything would be okay.
‘But she is fighter and she bounced back pretty quickly.’
Nicole said: ‘It was so surreal that I was going through something like this a month after the shooting’
Love wasn’t easy for the couple at first, however. Nicole, a dietitian and radiology coordinator, began to have second thoughts about how fast and intense their relationship had grown
Bryan almost gave up on winning Nicole’s heart because as he left on a US tour she told him she felt his touring schedule meant it would be impossible to build something meaningful. However, on an impulse Nicole gave into her feelings in February after missing her ‘soul mate’
Nicole continued: ‘I sat there being pumped full of antibiotics, I was willing myself better. I couldn’t walk but I was going to the gym.’
Bryan helped Nicole recover over the next six weeks back to full health.
Love wasn’t easy for the couple at first, however.
Nicole, a dietitian and radiology coordinator, began to have second thoughts about how fast and intense their relationship had grown.
After Christmas, Bryan almost gave up on winning Nicole’s heart because as he left on a US tour she told him she felt his touring schedule meant it would be impossible to build something meaningful.
However, on an impulse Nicole gave into her feelings in February after missing her ‘soul mate’ and decided she needed to see him.
She drove show over four hours to surprise Bryan at his Morongo Casino in California.
Nicole said: ‘I never meant to see him on tour, but I needed to. Seeing Bryan in person just changed everything. We had two nights together and then I was on a high for a few days, and then it struck me that I wasn’t going to see him for four more weeks.
‘It suddenly dawned on me that I couldn’t bare the thought of him meeting somebody else.
‘Inside I knew he was in love with me, but after California I realized it was mutual. And I couldn’t keep those words in anymore – I called him and said: ”I am in love with you.”
Bryan smiled: ‘It was 6am so I was on the bunk on the tour bus and hit my head on the upper bunk as I jolted upside when she said those words.’
Nicole said: ‘I never meant to see him on tour, but I needed to. Seeing Bryan in person just changed everything. It suddenly dawned on me that I couldn’t bare the thought of him meeting somebody else’
He continued: ‘My heart could not stop pounding and I couldn’t get the words: ”Oh my God. You made my entire world. I love you too so much,” out quick enough.
‘I was on cloud nine from that day and have not come down since. She sent me the most vulnerable poem she had ever written, about not getting hurt, and I had to see her.’
The singer sent Nicole to the airport the next day to fly to meet them in Chicago. She laughed: ‘The tour bus was parked at the snowed covered airport to pick me up. It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie as I ran straight into his arms and kissed him.
‘It was obvious I had been fooling myself for months about how much he meant to me.
‘What worried me was that surviving the shooting created a bond between us, but I had not realized that what we had grew into something greater.
‘And with regards to the age difference, it is not even a thing.
‘Sometimes I feel like Bryan has a more youthful outlook on life and I am the old soul.’
With Nicole at his side, Bryan’s band Elvis Monroe have played many fundraising and charity events to support the survivors and victims families of the shooting.
He is working on a new version of his song The Fight featuring star names including Joe Nichols, DeeJay Silver, Steel Panther, Nelson, Otherwise, Chad Jeffers and Toby Rand to raise funds for #Route91Strong Foundation.
Bryan said: ‘The survivors and victims families have been nothing but supportive.
‘I plan to continue raising funds for events related to the tragedy for the rest of my life.’
With Nicole at his side, Bryan’s band Elvis Monroe have played many fundraising and charity events to support the survivors and victims families of the shooting
Elvis Monroe will perform at the Vegas strong Run sponsored by Harley Davidson Run, raising funds for fallen first responders, on September 28.
Bryan will be the emcee of the Country58 gala, which is raising funds for the National Compassionate Fund.
Elvis Monroe will also play at the event at the Henderson Pavilion on October 27.
Nicole added: ‘We have been respectfully private about our relationship at many of these events, but we feel this is the right time to go public.
‘We can never change what happened, but this magical relationship has come out of this sad event.
‘It is difficult for some people to see how our lives have changed for the better, when the tragedy has done immeasurable damage. We are truly sorry for that.’
The pair is remaining tight-lipped about their next move, though.
Balancing her day job, Nicole is in the senior year of finishing her bachelors degree in nutrition and plans to become an dietician.
Bryan and Nicole admit they both suffered extensive nightmares after the horrific shooting.
‘It is not something you get over even if you have a day without recalling what happened,’ she says. ‘I have dreams where I feel like I am running, not specifically in one place and Bryan is there somewhere .
‘There were many of those in the first few months, but now they only come occasionally.
Bryan admitted: ‘It is rare we talk about it anymore at home, but obviously at these events people want to discuss it.
‘Some part of us feels that there is a disbelief that this actually happened.
‘To us it is unhealthy to still focus on it. We dealt with it when we needed to and we have moved on.
‘I have not watched any of the documentaries or read media reports, because I chose not to relive it. We chose not to relive anything from that night ideally.
‘But we support all those impacted by what happened and will continue to do so.’