Woman tries to pay it forward, ends up picking up Keith Urban’s tab

PHILADELPHIA (KYW-TV) — On Friday night, it was a chance encounter one woman won’t soon forget.

In line at a local Wawa, her good deed paid off and she came face-to-face with one of the biggest stars in country music.

“We decided when we saw military people we would treat them at Wawa or Dunkin’ Donuts or whatever,” said Ruth Reed, who, along with her husband, have made it a habit to pick up people’s tabs at Wawa.

A few years ago she made it a New Year’s resolution to do it weekly.

So this past Friday, when the customer in front of her at the Wawa on Route 541 in Medford was having an issue at the register, she jumped at the opportunity to help.

“It looked like he was using a card and it didn’t go through and then he asked a young lady for $5 and I thought this is it so I said, ‘No, I’ll get it,’” Reed told CBS Philly’s Cleve Bryan.

But as she was paying, she kept thinking, this guy looks familiar.

“And he said, ‘What’s your name?’ He said, ‘Ruth, I’m Keith,’ and I said, ‘That’s who you look like, Keith Urban. Do people ever tell you that you look like Keith Urban?’ And he said, ‘I am Keith Urban,’ and I said, ‘No you’re not really?” said Reed of their conversation.

Reed admits to KYW she took some convincing.

“And I said, ‘Really? Really? Then where’s Nicole? And who was that woman you were with?’ He said, ‘That’s my sister, we can ask her,’ and I said, ‘OK, I don’t think she would lie to some old lady,’” she said.

Then Reed noticed Urban’s bodyguards and realized she really had just paid for Keith Urban.

“And I just fell apart, fell apart and he was gracious,” Reed said.

Reed says Urban stuck $5 in the donation box at the register and happily took this picture with her.

“He really could have said, ‘Lady, get away from me,’ and he didn’t, he was very kind,” said Reed.

Reed has been getting a lot of attention the last couple days about her interaction with Urban and says she agreed to talk to KYW-TV about it on camera as long as well promised to stress the importance of her message to always perform acts of kindness for others.