From concert venues to Olympic triumphs, marriage proposals are getting more and more elaborate nowadays.
Kerby Ng's complex and well-planned proposal is among them, with the 29-year-old filmmaker taking to Instagram on July 2 to share how he had asked for his partner Joyce's hand in marriage.
It had been a long time coming for Joyce, so it's no wonder she couldn't compose herself on the actual day.
"For months and months and months, I've been gaslighting my girlfriend," Kerby narrated in the Instagram video, which showed snippets of all the times he had fooled his partner.
Kerby had planned and pulled off a number of fake proposals — at the beach, by the pier and one 3,000ft in the air in a hot air balloon — in the lead-up to the actual one.
"Wait, really? Really?" a baffled Joyce asked her boyfriend when he seemed to be on the verge of popping the question during a hot air balloon ride.
Alas, there was no wedding ring inside Kerby's ring box. Instead, it was a toy duck, with the couple laughing off yet another fake proposal.
But when the big day actually arrived, Kerby opted for a cinema hall as the location.
His girlfriend was completely unaware. In her eyes, this was just another day at the movies.
During the movie screening, the room suddenly went dark, prompting Kerby to "find management".
In actuality, this was his cue to begin the proposal. No fake one this time.
The real deal
Much to Joyce's confusion, Kerby popped up on screen and a compilation of clips over their nine years together began playing.
It did not take long for Joyce to figure out that this might just be an actual marriage proposal.
Kerby revealed to AsiaOne that the first two to three years of their relationship was long distance, with him being in the UK and Joyce in Malaysia.
He was looking to change that.
In the video playing on the big screen, Kerby asked his then girlfriend: "Would you like to finally be together, forever? Would you like to marry me?"
Everything was perfectly in place, Kerby was on one knee at the front stage of the cinema hall as the audience held up what appeared to be illuminated spheres in the air.
This was no ruse, and Joyce couldn't control her emotions as she made her way down to say yes to her soon-to-be husband.
Kerby mentioned how seeing her so overwhelmed with tears was a striking moment that will "live with him forever".
When asked why he chose to "gaslight" her so often, Kerby noted that he has since corrected the term to "fake proposing".
He added: "The reason for fake proposing was because we knew that we were going to get married without a doubt. The real question was 'when'."
Kerby's Instagram video has gone viral, with more than five million likes, but the reactions in the comments have been rather mixed.
Some found it heartwarming, while there were others who didn't agree with the fake proposals.
"Another day of me crying with strangers on the internet," one user said.
"Love the real proposal, didn't understand the need for the fake ones," another commented.
When asked why he chose to "gaslight" her so often, Kerby noted that he has since corrected the term to "fake proposing".
He added: "The reason for fake proposing was because we knew that we were going to get married without a doubt. The real question was 'when'."
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amierul@asiaone.com