'It just came out': How a brush with quicksand pushed a couple to define their relationship

As It Happens5:59How a brush with quicksand pushed a couple to define their relationship

It took a scary experience with quicksand for Mitchell O'Brien and Breanne Sika to officially move past the friend zone and admit how they feel about each other. 

"All of the insecurities that kept me from saying it before, like, flashed by my eyes in that moment, and I just let it all go and it just came out," O'Brien, 38, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

The pair had been out for a walk along the shore of Lake Michigan in Leland, Mich., on April 12, looking for rocks, when Sika, 36, noticed an area of sand that concerned her. 

But O'Brien misunderstood. He thought she was talking about the beach in general and just kept walking. Then, he stepped in it.

"I said, that is the exact spot that I just pointed to," said Sika. "It was the exact spot, not even an inch over. The exact area."

"She said, what are you doing? I remember that," said O'Brien. 

Quicksand happens when sand becomes overly saturated with water, and begins to work more like liquid.

O'Brien says he has dealt with quicksand before. In the past, he did the right thing, which is to lay flat and shimmy or roll away from the area. 

But in that moment, O'Brien tried to get his phone and keys out of his pocket. In that split second, he dropped down, and his foot was suction-cupped into the sand. 

"[Sika] did want to call for emergency help immediately and I was like the macho man trying to impress the girl on the beach," said O'Brien.

"I tried for about 15 or 20 minutes and every time I tried to scoop sand away from my leg, the waves just put it right back."

Calling for help

After struggling for those 20 minutes, they agreed it was time to call for help. Sika was panicking. The two had become close friends over the past two years after meeting at a training session for addiction recovery councillors. 

"Mitch has been my biggest support outside of my family," said Sika. "It was scary to think about losing that kind of a relationship."

And O'Brien felt the same. He didn't feel his life was at risk, but he really appreciated how Sika reacted in a crisis. 

"She never left me. She tried to put herself in danger to help me. She's been there for me emotionally through some pretty rough stuff," he said. 

Confessing their feelings

While stuck in the sand, O'Brien was able to calm Sika down. Despite being firmly stuck, the risk of dying from quicksand are low, though the cold waters of Lake Michigan were getting to him. 

"He kept telling me, 'I'm going to get out of here,' with a smile on his face," said Sika.

They both tried to call 911, but cell service was bad, and it took some time to connect with emergency services. Finally, O'Brien was able to get through.

"I told them where I was, what was happening. And then I just ended my part with, 'My girlfriend's trying to call too,'" said O'Brien. 

Just 20 feet away, Sika had gotten a hold of another emergency operator

"I said, 'My boyfriend is stuck in the sand,'" said Sika.

"And that's the first time we referred to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend," said O'Brien.

Not long after, emergency crews arrived and they were able to throw a lasso around O'Brien, give him a life jacket, and pull him out of the sand.

About 15 minutes later, O'Brien was safe and he and Sika were officially in a relationship.