Proposal stories can be some of the most magical moments of someone's life. But as these stories prove, they can also be some of the cringiest.
INSIDER found stories from Reddit threads about some proposals that range from funny to heart-breaking to outright disastrous.
"When she turned around the second time, she thought I was tying my shoe or something."
"My wife loves the zoo to the point where I joked that I was going to go to the zoo while I'm in Japan (work) and she was upset for a day then demanded pictures. She would always talk about going so it was a familiar dating spot for us. The one thing she had never gone to was the winter zoo lights.
"So my whole plan was to take her and propose in front of the polar bears (her favorite animal). Well when we got there, we wandered around making our way towards the polar bears. Well it turned out that the area the polar bears were in was closed off. All my plans were ruined.
"We wandered around some more and I was more nervous trying to find the right moment. Well, I got dumb lucky. There was a crowd around some newborn snow leopards, so while she pushed her way to the front, I stood back and got ready.
"She turned around to try and pull me up to see them and I got down on my knee. The crowd got quiet when they noticed me on a knee and she was too wrapped up in the cats. When she turned around the second time, she thought I was tying my shoe or something. It took her a minute to realize what was going on, I asked and she squeaked out a yes.
"A bunch of people congratulated us and [I] guess the nervous look was apparent because some guy offered to buy me a beer." - Redditor BeringSeaGrizz
"When he finally popped the question she left the restaurant without saying anything."
"A friend of mine was dating a girl for four years. She pressured him for the last year of their relationship about marriage and when he finally popped the question she left the restaurant without saying anything. The next day she called him and said, 'Yeah, we're done. I'm breaking up with you.'
"To this day we still have no idea what her problem was." - Redditor FestivePlague
"Luckily I followed her around."
"He tossed a bag into her lap and she thought it was his cigarettes."
"Guy I know was driving down the highway with his girlfriend. He tossed a bag into her lap and she thought it was his cigarettes until he said, 'Open it!' She found the engagement ring inside and he said, 'Well?' She said, 'I guess so.' They got married." - Redditor spangrl_85
"His offer was declined."
"Not witnessed, but my grandmother was proposed to in this way, sometime in the '40s:
"As she is sitting shotgun in the car with a guy she considered a friend, he says to her, out of nowhere, 'Rita, what I'd really like to have with you is something along the lines of ... a permanent franchise.'"
"His offer was declined." - anonymous Redditor
"That's when I realized I had not yet put on pants."
"She slapped him so hard he feel over sideways."
"They got Hoobastank to play."
"My university sponsored a free concert in the town center about six years back or so. They got Hoobastank to play. Dude tries to propose to his girlfriend during 'The Reason,' gets interrupted by some other guy running into him, then gets interrupted by the lead singer who called the couple up onto stage.
"The guy finally finished his proposal, the girl said 'yes,' and everyone clapped. Lead singer hugged them and sent them back offstage and said, 'That was great, I'll see you guys next week at the wedding DIVORCE!'" - Redditor BadReynolds
"This guy got shot down, and everyone in the stadium could see it."
"I was in Minnesota, at the HHH Metrodome watching a Twins game with my dad. In between innings, they put a big 'Will You Marry Me?' sign on the huge electronic board and cut to a guy getting down on one knee. Everyone is applauding, oohing and aahing.
"Then we all notice something. She is shaking her head no. This guy got shot down, and everyone in the stadium could see it. I really hope someone was able to make sure he got home all right, because I am pretty sure he didn't stay sober after that." - Redditor TemporaryPatch
"She polished off a baconator, and I handed her a ring."
"I had a fancy date planned, we were going to a nice restaurant in the old town district and were going to walk around by the harbor. Everything was planned out perfectly, we were dressed up nicely and it was going to be an awesome night out. I had the ring in my pocket and everything. Then, as we are getting in the car, she suddenly says 'You know what? I'm kind of tired, can we rain-check this? Maybe eat something quick and cheap in town?'
"So we went to Wendy's. She polished off a baconator, and I handed her a ring. 'I wanted to take you somewhere fancy and do this, but Wendy's will have to do.'" - Redditor ebonythunder
"I had a dude propose to a girl at the bowling alley I worked at."
"It was the least romantic setting I could imagine a proposal to be in."
"You wanna?"
"She said yes, but seemed pretty unenthusiastic about it."
"I have to yell over the music and people to ask her, while we're standing rubbing elbows with stinky tourists."
"I knew from her sister she wanted to be proposed to at Disney under the fireworks (cheesy, I know). We were both living in Wisconsin at the time but had a three-week vacation planned (five days were in central Florida), so it was my time to strike.
"I had lived in Florida for a year during college to try and make it as a wake-boarder, but a blown out knee ended that, but I still had some connections there. I got a hold of a buddy there who got us into the park, with the "premium" passes (no lines, etc etc) and we were taken to the front gate in a private boat, skipped the lines of families waiting to get in, and had a special little meet-n-greet with the characters ... so far the day was going well.
"After a day of Disney crap it was finally about time. Another buddy was the managers for Disney resort hotels, and allowed me to get on the roof to setup candles, bubbly, etc. etc. to set the mood for it all. The roof overlooked the park and was nice and removed for the hoards of tourists. I hinted about this during the day but when it came time, she refused and said she wanted to be in the park ... eventually I just gave up and went in.
"So we find a spot with some space, well like 30 seconds before the fireworks start about 250 people cram into our area meaning that to actually have room I have to sit on a narrow little fence ... well the fireworks start, I don't physically have room to get down on one knee, so I just do a reach around handing her the box .... which was knocked out of her hand by the people next to us (didn't lose it). Anyway, she looks at me and says, 'You have to say words' ... so I have to yell over the music and people to ask her, while we're standing rubbing elbows with stinky tourists.
"She said 'yes' but you could tell it wasn't how she pictured it ... then to guilt trip her I showed her what I setup, which was leaps and bounds better ... oh well." - Redditor Sidekicknicholas
"We just had a fight on 4th of July and we were yelling in our lawn about him not manning up."
"She ate her food in silence while he and his friends recapped the movie loudly."
"Eating dinner at a cheap Italian fast food place (Fazoli's) and a guy dressed like a knight walks in. He was carrying a real sword on his hip. His girlfriend, dressed in typical clothing, was noticeably uncomfortable.
"As soon as he walks in, he makes his announcement.
"'HEY EVERYONE! We're getting married! I just asked this beautiful girl to marry me and she said yes!'
"While they wait in line to order their reasonably-priced pasta dishes, his friends begin to file in. They were all driving from the movie theater where they had just met to see their friend pop the question at the premier of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.'
"She ate her food in silence while he and his friends recapped the movie loudly. She looked like she was going to cry." - Redditor Thousands_of_Spiders
"I basically proposed to get her to shut up."
"My own. I was fighting with my girlfriend and I basically proposed to get her to shut up. I just gave her a ring that I liked to wear.
"We've been together for 17 years now." - Redditor ihavenocomments
"The girl said 'sure,' and they walked back to their table."
"Too busy to feel nervous, but wish me luck!"
"Original way to ask her, but the delivery was awful."
"Her boyfriend got down on one knee as she was still in the saddle."
"She asked me if I was serious about eight times."
"I bought my soon-to-be wife's ring. Didn't think to plan what I would say, just waited for it to arrive. It sat in my glove box for three days and ticked and tocked like the Telltale Heart the entire time.
"Eventually after work on a week night (no, I can't remember the day) I put the ring in my pocket and walked into the house. Got to the living room. She's sicker than a dog in her housecoat watching God knows what.
"I drop down to one knee, pull the ring box out of my pocket, flip it open and fumble with the ring. I stutter out 'will you ummm marry me?' give her the puppy eyes and proceed to drop the ring under the couch. She asked me if I was serious about eight times (not sure if she thought me or the proposal was the joke).
"Eventually she said 'yes.' Thank Christ." - anonymous Redditor
"The guy made everyone listen to him read a poem in old-timey speak and then sing a song, accompanied by lute."
"I felt like the biggest a-- alive."
"My ex-husband kept dragging me places when I was sick and not feeling well. After many hours I finally told him I wanted to go home because I was exhausted. So we get home and I could tell he had something to say and had been acting very strange all night. So I finally blurt out, 'Look, whatever the f--- you need to say you need to spit it out because I'm about to pass out.' To which he nervously spit out at the foot of the bed, 'Will you marry me?'
"I felt like the biggest a-- alive." - Redditor Cakez33
"He slipped her ring into her ketchup."
"The bride was slightly drunk and furious, the groom was too drunk to care, the girl who got proposed to left the dinner, and the guy who proposed spent the rest of the night at the open bar."
"Witnessed a marriage proposal during someone else's wedding dinner. Worst part is, the girl said 'no.' The bride was slightly drunk and furious, the groom was too drunk to care, the girl who got proposed to left the dinner, and the guy who proposed spent the rest of the night at the open bar, making it uncomfortable for everyone who wanted a drink.
"Didn't care that much, still danced my butt off. Does make a good conversation piece every once in a while." - Redditor nzeit
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