“Tell the Angel I Love Her”: Maggie Dunn’s Mom Reveals Daughter’s Wedding Plans to American Idol Runner-Up John Foster This Summer

By Falcon Media

---

A Summer Light and an Unfinished Promise

On a warm Sunday afternoon in Livonia, Louisiana, the sky wore a veil of pale turquoise, and a breeze whispered through the old oak trees lining the quiet street. In a white clapboard house at the end of the lane, Erin Martin — mother of Maggie Dunn — sat at her kitchen table, slowly turning the pages of a photo album. Each photograph told a story, and today, for the first time, she shared one she had never spoken publicly: Maggie had been planning to marry John Foster, the newly crowned American Idol runner-up, this summer.

Her voice softened, her eyes glistening.

“She once told me… ‘Mom, when I’m in my white dress, make sure you tell him: Tell the angel I love her.’ Back then, I didn’t understand. Now, I do.”

---

From Friendship to Love

Maggie Dunn and John Foster first crossed paths in 2020 at a high school charity concert. John, then a 19-year-old music student with an old guitar slung over his shoulder, found himself drawn to the girl with the golden hair and radiant smile.

At first, they were just friends. Maggie often showed up at the little café where John played on Friday nights, while John joined her in local community projects. That friendship slowly blossomed into romance in the summer of 2021, when John wrote his first song for her — a gentle ballad titled Under the Oak Tree.

“He never declared ‘I love you’ outright in public,” Erin recalled with a faint, wistful smile. “But when he sang, everyone knew.”

---

Tragedy and Silence

In late 2022, a devastating car accident claimed Maggie’s life. John, then touring small venues in Texas, rushed back to Louisiana. For nearly a year, he disappeared from the stage, appearing only at a few memorial gatherings.

It was during that quiet, grief-stricken year that “Tell the Angel I Love Her” was born — a song written as a conversation with Maggie’s memory, and as a private message to her mother: that love does not vanish; it only changes form.

---

A Turning Point on the American Idol Stage

In 2024, John made a surprise decision to audition for American Idol. During the Top 20 show, he chose to perform “Tell the Angel I Love Her.” As the first chords rang out, the cameras caught Erin placing her hand over her heart, tears rolling silently down her cheeks.

“I knew people saw me cry,” she said, “but no one knew that earlier that day, I had found a letter Maggie wrote to John tucked in her dresser drawer. In it, she said she wanted to marry him in the summer of 2025. She even sketched her wedding dress.”

Erin kept that secret until after John’s remarkable run ended with him as the season’s runner-up.

---

The Summer Wedding That Never Came

According to Erin, the wedding was to take place in July, in the backyard of their family home, beneath Maggie’s favorite oak tree. The guest list was modest — about 50 close family and friends. John would compose the music for the ceremony himself, and Maggie had already chosen a bouquet of lavender and white daisies.

“She always wanted it simple, but meaningful,” Erin said. “She told me, ‘As long as he sings and you walk me down the aisle, it’s perfect.’”

---

John Foster: “I’ll Still Sing for Her”

Speaking by phone, John’s voice carried a quiet ache.

“We had plans, but life doesn’t always let you keep them. I can’t stand beside her at the altar this summer… but I’ll still sing for her, just as I promised.”

Instead of the wedding, he is planning a benefit concert on that same July date, raising funds for the Maggie Dunn Scholarship Fund — a project close to Erin’s heart.

---

Love Beyond Time

Erin believes that Maggie and John’s love endures, only in a different place. Whenever she hears John’s voice, she feels her daughter’s presence.

“When he sings, I can almost see Maggie smiling and whispering, ‘Mom, I’m okay,’” she said. “I’ll carry that message with me for the rest of my life.”

---

A Summer of Memory and Hope

As Livonia slips into its sun-drenched summer, the oak in Erin’s backyard stands tall and steadfast. Though the wedding will never take place as planned, July will still bring friends and family together to sing Maggie’s favorite songs and tell the stories she left behind.

At the end of our conversation, Erin gently closed the photo album, her smile breaking through tears.

“If she can hear me, I’d tell John what she wanted him to know: Tell the angel I love her.”