Marriage proposals are hard, public marriage proposals can be absolutely terrifying – for both people involved. But fear doesn’t stop some people from going all out with their proposals, as you can see in the examples below. It turns out there are very few things people would not do to give their loved one a proposal to remember – for better or for worse. Article by Zhao Jiayi.
The Kiss Cam Proposal
The Kiss Cam is a classic American tradition: at half time during sports games, the camera will pan over to random couples in the audience, who must then smooch on cameras. During a UCLA basketball game in 2011, the Kiss Cam was roving over the crowd as usual, before settling on a young man and his date. Before anyone (much less the lady) knew what was going on, the man got down on one knee and pulled out a ring box. It was a gutsy move, but unfortunately, there was to be no happy ending for him. His girlfriend shook her head and left, and the audience members were torn between shock and pity.
The Olympics Proposal
At the 2016 Olympics Game in Rio, there were 5 public marriage proposals – count them! But the weirdest one has got to be gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin’s fiancé, who showed up to her competition with a paper pinned to his shirt that read: ‘Can We Get Married Now?’ While all 5 proposals ended with ‘Yes’, they faced backlash for detracting from the Olympians’ hard-won moment of glory. Chinese diver Qin Kai, in particular, came under fire for proposing to his girlfriend, fellow diver He Zi, mere seconds after she had stepped down from the medal podium.
The One-in-a-Melon Proposal
Well not exactly a melon, but a pomelo. To be more specific – 999 pomelos. A young college senior in China went viral with his public marriage that involved 999 pomelos (the girl’s favourite fruit) arranged in the shape of a heart. Unfortunately, he would not get to enjoy the fruits of his labour, for he was unceremoniously turned down by the girl (known to netizens as “Mumu”) who responded with the classic friendzone line: “I like you as a friend”. The pomelos were later taken away by the viewing crowd.
The Kraziest Proposal
Involving a rented-out stadium, a 90-piece orchestra and pyrotechnics – this was a marriage proposal that only Kanye West could have pulled out for Kim Kardashian. Besides being the kraziest proposal on the list, it is also the most public one – exclusive film rights were given to Kim’s Reality Show Keeping Up with the Kardashian, and the proposal was broadcasted to high ratings. But as with anything involving the Kardashians, there was a bit of drama: they sued Youtube creator Chad Hurley for releasing footage of the proposal despite signing a confidentiality agreement.
The Traffic-Stopping Proposal
One man executed a traffic-stopping proposal – literally. Traffic on one of Los Angeles’ busiest highways ground to a halt when biker Hector Martinez, backed up by a veritable army of 400 fellow bikers, staged a grand proposal to his long-term girlfriend, Paige. In a clever little touch, he also tweaked the motorbikes’ exhaust system so that they would blow out smoke in Paige’s favourite colour, pink. Paige said yes, and to make things even better for Hector – the police did not press charges against him for his elaborate, and illegal, stunt.
