Failed Marriage Proposal Stories Go Viral, Are Downright Humiliating

What happens when a guy gets rejected during a marriage proposal?

There are a lot of mortifying and humiliating things that can happen in life. Being rejected during a marriage proposal has to be right near the top of the list.

As OutKick readers know, I got engaged last Friday night, and there was never a doubt in my mind that Shelby would say yes.

Apparently, some people prefer to jump the gun, and it doesn’t always end well.

Failed marriage proposal stories go viral.

An incredible Reddit thread is shining a light on the aftermath of failed marriage proposals, and it will make you feel embarrassed for many of the people involved.

There are a few uplifting stories, but also plenty of chaos and carnage. Check out the stories below, and hit me with your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:

• I realized ten seconds later that she actually said “You know I will.” And she’s just really quiet when she talks.
• My mom’s boyfriend proposed to her three months into dating. She was 40, had one disastrous marriage and subsequent divorce under her belt by that time, and felt like it was too soon in the relationship to be talking marriage. He accepted her No, but said he wouldn’t ask again, and he hasn’t. They’ve been together 25+ years now and never married.
• My 7th grade teacher brought his gf to school to propose to her in front of our entire class and she said no it was the topic of discussion almost every day that year nbs he ended up moving schools at the end of the year.
• I cannot imagine a woman that would want her proposal to happen in front of a middle school class. That’s just wtf energy.
• I can tell you what happens when you propose and she isn’t feeling it but says yes anyway because of social pressure – very awkward sad time until you finally have the talk you should have had before proposing.
• I had a foreign student at my university, I’d only spoken to on the phone a few times, and whom I’d never met call my father on Christmas morning of my Freshman year. He asked my dad for my hand in marriage. They talked for ages, and my stupid father said yes! He was so out of touch with my life, he assumed the guy was my boyfriend. My dad thought I’d be thrilled, the idiot.
• We’d been joking around about it for months, I’d ask sarcastically in the most un-romantic way. She’d say no, we’d laugh and move on with our day… I’d apparently conditioned her so well that when I asked for real, she flippantly turned me down, and everyone around me either gasped or got this real awkward look on their face. She changed her tune shit quick when she actually looked and saw me holding the ring. We’ve been married 17 years now. Good times.
• I proposed to my girlfriend at a family gathering, and she said no. It was a tough moment for both of us, but we sat down and had a long, honest conversation about our relationship. We realized that we had been drifting apart for a while and that the proposal brought those issues to the surface. We decided to break up and focus on our own personal growth. It was painful at the time, but looking back, it was the right decision for both of us.
• She was graduating with her Masters, I still had two years left for my PhD. I floated the idea privately,… she said “If you ask me formally, I will say yes. But if you really love me, give me a year to prove to myself that I can live on my own.” I said “No problem.” She moved to her job, down in New Jersey. Next I heard of her, she was engaged to another guy I knew. I took that as “another bullet dodged, another life lesson learned.”
• She told me “No, but wait awhile and ask again and I think it will be yes.” We’re still married.
• Proposed to her at 22. She said no. We stayed friendly while life took us on different paths. About twenty five years later, we got married.
• Dated for 3 years. He was, I thought the love of my life. I locked eyes with him and as I was about to open my mouth and say “will you marry me” he said “we need to break up”. He met some one else. They have been married for two years and it turns out I’m into women. We DO NOT speak but I wish him the best.
• I got proposed to in a full restaurant by hiding the ring in deserts… he even hired a photographer. I said yes due to pressure, and then when we got in the car, I said no because we’re were only dating for about 2 weeks. He did not take it lightly, and then he assaulted me.. so yeah, never again saying yes due to pressure.

Here’s some free advice that I feel like should be obvious to everyone with a functioning brain. Discuss marriage before deciding to pop the question.

When I was a little kid, I was often confused by the idea of proposing and how to know when to do it. Then, like many people, I was told by my parents there are discussions that happen before someone pops the question. If you’re going in totally blind after no talks about it, then you seem to be setting yourself up for failure.

Personally, I only know of one person who got rejected during a proposal…….and it happened in *VERY* public and humiliating fashion. I would leave the country and go live in Tibet if something like that happened to me and went viral.

Fortunately, that’s not a concern I have.

Do you have a crazy engagement story, positive or negative? I want to hear about it at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.