How Republican John Rose met his wife who is 25 years his junior before their son became a viral sensation

When Tennessee GOP Rep. John Rose's son Guy went viral on social media on Monday, many remarked how cute his 'grandson' was. 

Little did they know that the silly six-year-old making faces behind the congressman's floor speech was 59-year-old Rose's son by his wife who is 25 years his junior. 

Rose and wife Chelsea seemingly met when she was in high school and he was 42 and they crossed paths at a farming convention. She was of legal age when they married four years later. 

In 2007, 17-year-old Chelsea Doss traveled from Murfreesboro to Gaitlinburg, Tennessee for the state's 79th annual Future Farmers of America (FFA) convention. 

Chelsea's Eagleville High School FFA chapter won the State Superior award and Chelsea won the State Job interview contest. She was named the 2007–2008 Tennessee FFA Association state president.

Among the convention's attendees was Rose, then the vice chairman of the board of the Tennessee FFA. 

Shortly after the FFA convention, Chelsea won the Doss received the Jerry and Betty Williams Rose Scholarship, named after Rose's parents.

Fewer than four years later the couple was married, according to an engagement announcement from the now-defunct local Eagleville Times. 

Chelsea was 21 and a college senior at Tennessee Technical University, Rose was 45-year-old software executive, heavily involved in FFA and the chairman of the board at Chelsea's college. 

In a 2010 interview with the Murfreesboro Post, Chelsea credited Rose with getting her the scholarship. 

'John has made everything possible that I've done in FFA beyond high school. Through the scholarship that he provides, I've not had to have a job through college,' Chelsea said, indicating that the scholarship was secured before she arrived on campus as a freshman. 'I've been able to train, improve, focus on FFA and focus on school. That scholarship has made all the difference,' she continued. '[John] has also coached me during my preparation, which has been extremely helpful.' 

Rose and his red-headed six-year-old made the rounds on TV broadcast networks on Tuesday, with appearances on CNN and Fox News. 

On Fox and Friends Tuesday morning, Guy explained that he was 'making a symbol to my brother to make him laugh,' and spelling out S-A-M. 

Rose and his wife Chelsea have another young son Sam born in 2020. The couple met while Chelsea was in high school and Rose was 42. They married in 2011 as she was in her senior year in college. 

Asked if he realized he was a 'very big star' after the clip, Guy shot back: 'Not that much.' He said his dad 'does boring stuff' for work, and when Rose said his job is 'actually very interesting,' Guy whispered over him: 'he's not telling the truth.' 

Rose took to the floor to slam the 'political' prosecution of Donald Trump that led to his conviction, but it was his young son that stole the show on Monday. 

Seated behind Rose, 59,  was his son, Guy, 6.  As Rose spoke at the microphone, his son smiled toward the camera, before crossing his eyes, sticking his tongue out and making a series of silly faces and hand gestures. 

'This is what I get for telling my son Guy to smile at the camera for his little brother,' Rose wrote on X after the C-SPAN clip went viral. 

Social media users were quick to point out their unconventional marriage. 

'Hey, is his mom the one you groomed when she was 17 and you were 42?!? Family values Christian, amirite?' one X user replied. 

'Is his mom there, or is she busy studying for finals?,' wrote another. 

'Friendly reminder that John Rose was in his 40s when he groomed a teenager to become his wife,' read another reply. 

Rose came to Congress in 2018 after a career in business and a stint as agriculture commissioner of Tennessee.