Man's proposal to girlfriend as she ran New York City marathon has people angry

He proposed at mile 16

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Tuesday 06 November 2018 16:57 EST
Comments
Moment New York man proposes to his girlfriend as she runs New York City marathon

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A man proposed to his girlfriend as she ran the New York City marathon - a gesture that people on social media are calling selfish.

Kaitlyn Curran was running her first-ever marathon on Sunday when she spotted her boyfriend Dennis Galvin near the 16-mile mark.

When Curran ran over to say hello, Galvin decided to halt his girlfriend’s race - by getting down on one knee to propose.

In the video shared by CBS, which has since gone viral, Curran accepts, hugs her new fiance, places the engagement ring on her finger, and then proceeds to rejoin her fellow marathoners and continue running.

While the proposal likely made an unforgettable day even more memorable, many have criticised Galvin for taking the spotlight away from his girlfriend’s accomplishment.

“Mile 16? Way to steal her thunder,” one person tweeted.

Another said: “His male ego was too small to let her get all of the attention for even a few hours.”

Others questioned why Galvin couldn’t wait till his girlfriend had crossed the finish line - choosing instead to pause her mid-race and impact her final time.

“He messed up her time so badly,” someone commented while another said: “If you’ve ever trained for a marathon, the amount of time that goes into is a lot. To be interrupted for a damn proposal is insane.”

“Hopefully she gave it a second thought over the next 10 miles,” someone else joked.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Despite the backlash over the timing of the proposal, some people have pointed out that Curran did say yes to her boyfriend of four years - and seemed pretty excited as she resumed the race.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in