When Allie Murphy decided to channel Marnie Michaels from Girls — specifically her infamously cringey office karaoke performance of “Stronger” — for Halloween, she needed a costume for her husband, Chris, that could match her energy.

After brainstorming, she came up with the perfect answer: Tom Sandoval during The Traitors’ unforgettable “doll challenge.”

The moment played out on Season 3 of The Traitorswhen Sandoval and the other contestants braved a creepy cabin full of singing dolls and had to memorize and perform backwards nursery rhymes. Thanks to his musical chops, Sandoval helped lead his team to victory and added cash to the prize pot.

“If they lived in the same reality, we definitely think Sandoval and Marnie would hit it off,” Chris tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I absolutely loved Sandoval’s ‘performance’ — one of the most iconic TV moments in recent history.”

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Leading up to a Halloween party last week, Chris admits he put off his costume prep until the last minute but managed to pull it together with a few clutch finds.

“eBay was my go-to for the argyle sweater and the extremely old, creepy doll,” he says. “Between those and a dress shirt from my closet, it surprisingly came together pretty well.”

The couple dubbed their look a “Duo of Awkward Singers” and planned to lean into the bit all night.

“We had this vision of walking around the party singing and hamming it up, her as Marnie, me as Sandoval,” Chris recalls. “When we told our friends about the concept, they either loved it or didn’t get the references at all. We were very unsure how it would be received.”

Once they arrived at the party, though, the idea clicked. “Our friends mostly got it, or at least enjoyed our theatrics,” Chris says. “I fielded lots and lots of requests to perform with the creepy doll throughout the night.”

He never expected the costume to get much attention, or that his friend Allie Calderon’s video of it would go viral.

But since she posted it, the video has amassed over 1.5 million views and 2,300 comments.

“10/10, no notes 😂👏,” Bravo replied.

“I only wanna be friends w the ppl who got it instantly,” someone else replied.

Another wrote, “This is so niche but so spot on. 💯👏🏻.”

“I had no idea she was even going to post it,” Chris says. “By the time we saw it, it already had about 30,000 views. I was genuinely shocked that a costume whose reference I thought only a handful of people would get made so many people laugh.”

The viral moment has led to plenty of reconnecting, too.

“It’s been so wild to see the response,” Chris says. “My wife and I have been getting messages from old coworkers and classmates. It’s been really fun to have this shared funny experience.”

And while the internet isn’t always kind, he’s been pleasantly surprised by the positivity.

“It’s really nice that the comments have been overwhelmingly positive and that I’m not getting roasted for anything,” he says. “It’s fun when the internet has those shared moments of happiness, and I’m glad I could be part of one.”

As for comparisons, Chris says one comment made him laugh the most: “Someone said I look like Tom Schwartz. Not sure if that’s good or bad, my wife says it’s good.”

And the cherry on top? The man himself noticed.

“I haven’t heard from Tom directly,” Chris says, “but he did repost the video to his Instagram Story — which might be the highlight of the whole thing. I did DM Tom, though…”