6 Marriage Proposal Fails That Are Cringe-Worthy AF

Planning the perfect proposal is one thing. Executing the perfect proposal and getting your “yes,” is a whole other thing, as these wiley brides and grooms-to-be prove. From downright humiliating to cartoonishly catastrophic, there are about a million ways a perfect proposal can turn into a marriage proposal fail. Take these misfortunes as cautionary tales of what not to do as you’re planning to ask for your love’s hand in marriage.

6 cringe-worthy marriage proposal fails you need to see — and learn from!

Kiss Cam marriage proposal fail.

Kudos to this wiley BF, who successfully got himself and his girlfriend on the Kiss Cam at an NBA game. After a quick smooch, he bent down on one knee, but an overenthusiastic back pat of encouragement from an excited bystander caused him to drop the ring! We can only assume that after a mad scramble to find the ring his girlfriend said yes. From what we could see, however, it was sort of a proposal fail.

When even a violinist doesn’t guarantee a yes.

There are proposal fails that result from unfortunate technical difficulties and then there are proposal fails that are clearly caused by some key relationship dysfunction. This marriage proposal fail seemed to be the latter. While dining with a friend at a Brazilian mall, an unsuspecting woman was greeted by a violinist before receiving a tap on the shoulder from her boyfriend holding a huge bouquet of flowers. Clearly disturbed, the would-be bride is having none of her man’s declarations as he bends on one knee. Far from an enthusiastic “yes,” the woman ends the proposal fail by leaving the food court as the man is left with a crowd of onlookers.

Humiliating mall proposal fail.

This unfortunate marriage proposal fail included a lot more than just the would-be groom’s humiliating rejection. After nearly 90 seconds of spectacle in the middle of a crowded Dubai shopping mall, the proposer kneels in front of his girlfriend — ignoring her attempt to stop him before he gets all the way on one knee. To make it absolutely clearly that marriage would be a no-go, the poor guy’s girlfriend slaps him across the head with a ukelele. Talk about a painful lesson (and a proposal fails hall-of-fame contender).

Bro-tastic marriage proposal fail.

Proposals aren't solely the domain of the men folk, as this unfortunate woman proposer shows. Positively giddy, this sure-minded woman decides to pop the question to her boyfriend of two weeks at a crowded party of their friends. While the crowd is totally into her initiative, her BF isn’t so enthused. When it becomes clear that she isn’t getting a yes, things get a little raucous.

Marriage rebellion at the Riot Act.

The irony was a little too poignant for an ironic comedian who took some time out of his set at the Riot Act to propose to his girlfriend. After he called her up on stage and extolled her virtues before the audience, he was ready to whip out a ring box and get down on one knee — much to his GF’s obvious chagrin. The comedian charged ahead with his proposal mission, but his girlfriend still wasn’t convinced, even as the crowd encouraged her to “don’t think, say yes!” To no one’s surprise, this public declaration of love resulted in an embarrassing proposal fail.

Proposals in the sky are prone to gaffes.

You have to applaud the creativity of this adventurous proposer, Chris, who orchestrated an aerial proposal to his girlfriend, Niki, as the couple went skydiving. Talk about the ultimate surprise proposal! The trouble started when Chris couldn’t get his sign to cooperate hundreds of feet in the air. Scratching his original, daredevil plan to ask Niki while the two were flying high, Chris settled for a bended knee proposal after the skydiving adventure ended. She said “yes,” and he turned his marriage proposal fail into a success.