Traditionally speaking, when we think of proposals when it comes to hetero couples, it's pretty much always the man who proposes to the woman. We see it in movies, TV, internet specials, read it in books - there really aren't a lot of examples that most people can think of (aside from arranged marriages) where there is any deviation from that. He proposes to her. That's it.
But what if that wasn't it?
With more and more male celebrities rocking engagement rings (Ed Sheeran, Michael Buble, David Otunga, Osi Umenyiora) and tons of couples ditching the idea of gold and diamonds entirely, younger people are all about chucking traditions out the window and doing it their own way. So let's talk about this whole proposal thing...
Reddit user That-Guy-Jack asked:
Women who proposed to your boyfriend, how did they react when you were the one to pop the question?
It turns out young people who have switched it up aren't exactly being pioneers in the proposal territory. There were some couples who responded and had been married for literal decades! Some of these responses had to be edited for language, but here are people's real-life proposal stories. Enjoy!
Forgot To Answer
He was pretty taken aback, and said it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him. Then I reminded him he hadn't answered the question yet, and he said yes.
The Song
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He said he had to think about it. Mind you, we'd been living together for 2 years and I proposed to him in bed. About a week later, after I had pretty much convinced myself I'd need to find a new place to stay, he sang a song he wrote accepting the proposal. And we've been married 36 years.
Emotional Rollercoaster
I'm a guy and my wife proposed to me.
I was totally caught off guard, not specifically because I was the one being proposed to, but because we had never discussed marriage at any point prior.
As far as my reaction? Well it went down like this:
I got home from work and she was waiting in my room for me sitting on my bed. She was like "Take of your jacket". I said "Okay" and did so. Then immediately she said "Sit down". At this point I'm kind of concerned. Then she starts talking.
She said, "I really like you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." But I heard it as, "I really like you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you..." and I was fully expecting her to say "but I can't". My heart dropped, I thought I was getting dumped.
Anyways, then she started babbling and not being able to collect her words and thoughts and I had no idea what was going on. Then she pulled out the box, with the ring. I said yes, and had to get my composure because of the emotional roller coaster I was on.
I hugged her, went upstairs, told my mom and cried (tears of joy). Then I went to the bar to tell all our friends. Now we're married and have a house and a dog :)
Carry Me
I've dragged him through Vienna for a week as this was on our first vacation together. Finally, he gave up and said he couldn't walk anymore. we sat down in the orangery of Schönbrunn Palace where I asked him. First thing he said was: Seriously? followed by: yes. followed by: you know, you have to carry me home now.
- Sjeru
Happy Halloween
Husband, here.
My then gf and I made an annual trip to Las Vegas for a Halloween music festival, for years. During the planning of the current year's trip she said "hey, we should get married on Halloween this year!"
I said it was a great idea and we got married.
That was ten years ago and we've been happily married ever since.
For what it's worth, we had been together for ten years already when she "proposed." We had a pretty nonchalant view on marriage but we instantly loved being married after.
10/10 would marry her again.
Beat Me To It
My wife proposed to me. I thought it was awesome! I was planning to ask her on New Years Eve, and she beat me to it and asked me on Christmas Eve. Never felt emasculated and still think it was awesome.
WTF
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He kinda went "What the f*ck?" like I was crazy or something.
This was after 6 years of living together. Then I started snooping and found out about all the skanks he was screwing on our couch while I was at work.
I'm in a different country now.
Calling Your Bluff
We were lying in bed on a Monday morning, wrestling. I mostly jokingly said "Marry me already." He said, "Are you seriously asking me?" I, thinking he was just calling my bluff, called his and said yes. Then he said yes and promptly called his mother, who was caught off guard about this news at 8:30 on a Monday. He agreed on the condition that he could still surprise me with a ring.
Going on 4 years married this winter. :)
The Theme
My sister in law proposed to my brother. She took some photos of his work stuff (he's a firefighter, so his last name is on everything) and put them on canvas. She convinced him to drive to one of their favorite places with this mystery box. When she finally got him to focus on the box, she pulled out the pictures and asked what the theme was. When he guessed his last name, she pulled out a paper saying "you stole my heart, can I steal your last name?"
He was pretty stoked. He was really excited that she asked, and said yes. When he told us, the family, he said he's relieved because proposing to her never crossed his mind. He was so content he would have never thought of change.
Taking Turns
I proposed to my husband, but we both already knew we would be getting married.
I like to think it was pretty romantic - at sunset on a bridge in a little French village in Provence. I made him turn around for something and he immediately figured out what was happening, so tried (and failed) to stay calm and just looked like he was going to burst from excitement.
I got down on my knee, told him he was the best thing that happened to me and asked. He said yes, of course, and we kissed.
Then he said he wanted to give it a try so he got down on one knee and proposed to me too!
We'd already discussed how we wanted the proposal would go, and decided while either of us could pop it if we wanted to, I was generally better at planning things out and putting my foot down (I was also the one to ask him out when we first met.)
Mid-Conversation
I wasn't planning on proposing, but the question just popped out in the middle of a conversation He said yes, then had to go for a walk to call his best friend and freak out a little bit.
When he got back we decided we needed to do it right- there weren't any rings at this stage, but we could at least do the whole down on one knee thing. We couldn't decide who should actually do that though, so we both got down on one knee and proposed to each other at the same time. And we both said yes.
- Why Aren't More Women Proposing To Men? | A Practical Wedding ›
- Should a Woman Propose To A Man??? - YouTube ›
- More Women Are Searching for Ways to Propose to Men | Brides ›
- Eight women who decided to propose - BBC News ›
- When Women Propose, This Is How It's Done ›
- 5 Very Real Reasons Why Women STILL Can't Propose | Brides ›
- This woman proposed to her boyfriend — here's why you shouldn't ... ›
- 8 Stories About Women Proposing to Men ›
- How Women Proposing To Men Are Challenging Gender Roles ›
- Men Describe Being Proposed to By Women - VICE ›
My list is too long to even try to narrow down. I'm just going to say that most of our political officials, on all sides, need a muzzle, a sedative, and a new career path. Start there...
Divorce Time
Real Housewives Goodbye GIFGiphy"Oh man I often think about the guy asking if he's an ahole for asking his pregnant wife to wear a diaper at night because she was disturbing his sleep whenever she got up to pee." ~ Morrigans
Psycho!
"I remember a girl in her late teens who thought her older sibling was faking their child's food allergy so she tried to catch her by not telling them about the ingredients before serving them a dish. Someone else had it first and recognized the ingredient and stopped the kid from eating it in time and called her out. She then tried to play it off saying her sibling was a drama queen and she was trying to trap her. Reddit tore into her, of course, since the child could've... well, died." ~ SylancerPrime
Glassware
"The guy who moved into his younger girlfriend's apartment, and threw away her fancy drinking jars that she loved from their shelf because they bothered him and he wanted her to just drink from normal cups. I think about this entitled jerk a lot. ~ SelfDiagnosedUnicorn
"get over it"
"Girlfriend of a widowed father of two, she moved in to his place. He was still struggling with letting go of his late wife. So the gf in her eternal wisdom decided to throw away all family pictures of his late wife one day when the dad was away because she felt it was time for him to "get over it". He did not get those pictures back, they were legit gone forever. When she posted this on AITA but didn't get the validation she wanted she just doubled-down instead." ~ YoungDiscord
Thief!
Angry Season 9 GIF by ShamelessGiphy"The girl who found a lost dog after someones house was destroyed then refused to give it back because they had "bonded." ~ dawsonsmythe
I dare you to try and keep any of my animals. What kind of lunatic does that?
"emotional support"
Steve Harvey Reaction GIF by Super DeluxeGiphy"The guy who was mad his GWB wouldn't give 10k usd because he provided her with "emotional support" by listening to her rant about her ex a couple of times." ~ Hopelessyhopeful
Vile
"The OP deleted it so I can't link. OP was the wife of a man whose first wife died. OP was jealous of wife #1 and destroyed all the photos and knick knacks from the first wife, including deleting all the digital photos. She burned everything physical. Her husband packed up his teenage daughter and left her. It was 3 or so years ago and I still feel rage thinking about that vile OP. I hope her husband divorced her. It's the least she deserved." ~ fluidentity
Cinderella
"OP wasn't the a**hole in this one, but her son was. Basically she found out that her son was using her daughter-in-law as a stay at home maid. They had two kids, I wanna say, and DIL did EVERYTHING - cooking, cleaning, childcare, EVERYTHING. OP gave DIL some money for a girls' weekend and her son forced her to cancel it because he wanted to go out with his friends that weekend, leaving her to watch the children."
"DIL called OP in tears and OP loses it - tells her to drop the kids at her house and go take her weekend. OP takes the kids to her sister's (with DIL's permission) and goes to the bar where her son is and tears him a new one to the point she gets kicked out of the bar. First thing she does after that is call her other two DILs up to make sure her other son's aren't pieces of crap." ~ SpidersMcGee
Awful Dad
"'ll never forget the one guy. He'd just turned 18 and was getting ready for college when his dad walked in, said "your mom cheated on me. I'm not your real dad. I'm not paying for your college. Move out after you graduate high school."
"The dad had known for the son's entire life but didn't say anything until that moment because he thought it was the mom's job to do it. And the kid assumed his family would pay for his college like they did with the others so he didn't save any money or look for scholarships." ~ justking1414
Call John
John Cena Mind Blown GIFGiphy"The kid that ruined his little brother's signed John Cena poster. The little brother had gotten it signed when he met John Cena during a Make-A-Wish event that was held for him." ~ nsa_k
That little kid is a psycho in training. Those parents need to sleep with BOTH eyes open. I hope John Cena sent another poster.
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Most of my minor, well major miracles when you think about it, have been in cars. I've lost track of the amount of vehicle disasters I've averted, by the skin of my teeth.
Out Damn Spot!
GIF by Warner ArchiveGiphy"My wife dragged my butt to the dermatologist for a cyst I have had for years. While there, the doc noticed a mole on my ankle that he didn't like. Turned out to be melanoma. Would have never gone if my wife didn't force me." ~ TheDistric
Say "AHHHH!"
"24 years old, had a pesky sore on my tongue that was really bothering me. My boyfriend's dad was a dentist so when I was over at his house one night I asked him to take a look. He recommended I go see an oral surgeon the next day for him to check it out."
"The next day I decided it was feeling better so I tried to cancel my appt but my boyfriend's dad insisted I go. I went, and the oral surgeon pretty much diagnosed it as cancer on the spot. It was aggressive and by the time of my surgery to remove it it had already spread to multiple lymph nodes."
"They ended up removing over half my tongue followed by chemo and radiation. Given how aggressive it was, I often think that if I had put off the doctors visit any longer I probably wouldn't have survived. I'm coming up on my 10 year anniversary in January." ~ bobear2017
Flip Out!
"When driving in the upper peninsula in Michigan last summer a truck full of logs flipped and barrelled straight into my car. Completely demolished the car, someone else had to come open the door for me after the fact because they were all pinned shut by logs. I walked out of there without a scratch on my body." ~ Tman2588
Pit Stop
"On a road trip in college with 4 friends. We stopped halfway for a pit stop because I had explosive diarrhea and was getting more sick by the minute. Friends carried on to Vegas and left me with one of the guys who rented us a car to return home. The friends that carried on got into a roll over: 1 died, 2 will be injured for life." ~ 4fingertakedown
Stay Single
Samuel L Jackson Reaction GIF by Coming to AmericaGiphy"I was engaged to someone, but then came to my senses and broke it off. Nine months later I found out she got married to someone else, then about 1 year after that she killed her husband." ~ Green-Boysenberry396
Life is a minefield when you think about it. Sometimes the heartbreak of love is worth it in hindsight. You look back and realize you loved a psycho and just say... "thanks for looking out God."
Leaks
relief GIFGiphy"The second floor of the house I was renting collapsed a month after I moved out. ETA: apparently a water pipe sprung a leak shortly after we left. We weren't in any trouble." ~ RenaKunisaki
On Impact
"I was driving home from visiting my brother in Vermont when a snow storm started. I didn't have much experience driving in serious snow and I completely lost control. Car careened off the road and I was heading for a giant boulder at around 50 or 60 mph. I felt time slow down and I reflected on my life for a moment and then said goodbye to my body. Suddenly, I was jolted out of it by an abrupt impact, but I could see that the boulder was still 20 or 30 feet away."
"When I got out of the car, I saw that I had hit a little skinny tree that I could have easily grabbed with one hand. However, it had a giant root system that lifted the car off the ground and stopped me. Car was totaled, but I was completely fine because of that little tree. There is no way I would have survived the other impact." ~ senatorbolton
Winter Days
"Walking to work in the winter. Half way through a step forward under a skybridge when an icicle taller than me (6') and probably 2' around at the base crashes down right in front of my nose. If my bus had been a half second earlier, if I had walked even a tiny bit faster pace."
"I would have been impaled from brains to testicles. I was frozen in place for a minute, quietly surveying my near-death. There was another pedestrian nearby who witnessed it and the wide-eyed, ashen look on his face as he stared at me confirmed just how narrowly fortunate I was that day." ~ MoridinXP
where I had just been...
"This happened before cellphones existed. I had a long commute home and on a rare occasion my husband drove into the city to meet me. I started for home about fifteen minutes before he did. On the stretch of Highway 101 that I needed to be on for about twenty miles, there was a big rig in front of me that seemed to be driving erratically."
"I got this weird feeling and just moved over to the next lane and accelerated past him. In my rear view mirror, I saw the big rig run over the car in front of him, flip to its side crushing the cars in the next lane (where I had just been). My husband was behind the accident and as the police were letting cars file past in single file."
"He saw one of the crushed cars had a red bumper. He got home a couple of hours after me and said he'd never been so happy to see my red car in the driveway. That he'd been holding his breath as he turned down our street because he really expected me to be under the big rig." ~ susgrigs
The Rising
Water Douse GIFGiphy"My wife and I were prepared to buy a nice riverfront property in 2019, but the owners ( her dad and uncle) were dragging their feet. We had our down payment, we were approved for the mortgage, and we had even been living there paying rent."
"Then the river rose 30ft/10m and we had to evacuate. The water kept rising. The house was destroyed before we bought it. So we didn't buy it." ~ Idiot_Savant_Tinker
And these are just the disasters we know about. The truth is, we probably survive near-death experiences with every breath we take. God speed everyone.
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