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15 Rejected Engagement Proposals That Will Make You Say, "Daaaaaaaamn"

"I asked her mid-coitus. She looked at me and laughed, which stung, I'll admit."

Reddit user frenchlimones asked people who've said no to proposals or who have had a proposal rejected to explain "why they said no, and what happened after." Here are 15 of them:

1. The bad cheddar biscuit:

My friend proposed to his girlfriend at Red Lobster in front of his whole family. She felt pressured of course and said yes. Broke up with him shortly before the wedding.

Pro Life Tip: Don't invite your family to the proposal.

human8ure

2. He needed to sober up before marriage:

When my dad proposed to my mom, she said no. The way I remember the story, she told him he needed to sober up, and then drove away and left him sitting on a curb.

Then he got sober and re-proposed a year later. Dad's now been sober for 34 years, and they've been married for 33. Sometimes things work out.

irein_p

3. The insurance agreement:

I asked her to marry me.

​She said no—that she didn't want to support the institution of marriage.

I said that I didn't either, but I need health insurance.

She said fine.

Sixteen years together and three kids now.

Kevin_Scharp

4. The guilty conscience:

Friend had been dating four years. He spoke to me about how he was going to propose, she didn’t want a public proposal or a big romantic gesture.

He proposed on a Saturday morning, with a beautiful ring. She burst into tears.

He thought they were happy tears and that she was struggling to say “yes," but she kept crying until he had to put the ring down, and hold her.

Turns out she’d been cheating for a year. Swore she’d broken it off, was going to pretend it never happened and live happily ever after. But seeing his “hopeful face” at that moment just “broke” her and she couldn’t do it.

He left her. I think she’s engaged to someone else now. Not sure if it’s the guy she was cheating with.

balloonits

5. The distraction proposal:

I am a guy. I had my girlfriend at the time propose to me.

But she only did it to try to knock me off the scent of her cheating ass which all came to head when I literally met the guy she was cheating on me with at her work a couple weeks later who just so happened to think I was her cousin since he seen me in pictures and she would drive my car.

XXMAVR1KXX

6. Double pregnancy, double proposal:

My father got two women pregnant, proposed to them both, was rejected both times.

The first one, the mother of my half sister, rejected his proposal and broke up with him shortly afterwards. She asked him to sign over full custody.

The second woman was my mom, years later. He planned on proposing within the next few months, so when he found out she was pregnant he asked her to marry him right away.

She said absolutely not. He had to win her over first.

He did! They got married seven months later and my mom was so pregnant she fainted at the wedding and had to be seated for her vows. It’s a favorite home video of all her cousins.

delightfulspacepeach

7. The mid-sex proposal:

I asked my wife mid-coitus. She looked at me and laughed, which stung, I'll admit. But when she realized I was serious, she said no. She said she was scared that we'd get married and she'd lose me right after.

It took about eighteen more times asking her before she said yes, haha.

TheRealJackReynolds

8. The girl with a secret:

Had been dating a guy for two or three years when my parents split up. She told her then boyfriend to absolutely positively not propose right now (she knew he was gearing up to do it) because her faith in relationships and the institution of marriage had taken a blow.

Boyfriend proposed anyway, and she said no. They had a house together that they were fixing up, but due to my parents splitting up my sister had nowhere else to live and they both moved in.

Boyfriend was in love and wanted to make the relationship work. My sister was also in love, but was aware that they were fundamentally different people and wasn't sure she wanted to continue onwards, but also didn't want to end it in case it was the wrong decision. She finally decided to end it after almost a decade together. They stayed a couple six years after the failed proposal, but didn't have sex in all that time. They slept in the same bed every night with no intimate contact between them.

He had his issues (as do we all) but was definitely a good guy. But, it was obvious to those of us on the outside that he and my sister were just too different to be together successfully. After the breakup, he started dating someone with two kids and I believe they moved in together. My sister started dating someone else, too, who she fell hard for.

That was until she discovered the guy had a girlfriend of two years who he was cheating on with her. The guy "broke up" with the other girl and is still with my sister. Oh, gosh, my sister...

DejoMasters

9. The case of the missing girlfriend:

I was dating a girl for four years. We lived together for one and a half of those four years. We had been discussing marriage for a few months so I went ahead and bought the ring in March with the intention of proposing in July, for her birthday. One Friday in June, I came home from work to find both her and my dog missing. I found a note on my desk that explained that she had been cheating on me since March and that she was moving back in with her parents. It also stated that she had broken it off with the other guy and that I could call her if I still wanted to speak with her.

​After about three weeks, I took her back. At this point, she knew that I had the ring and wanted to propose, but also knew that I needed time and it wouldn't be happening in the near future. Another year went by and she randomly told me that she was breaking up with me again. Because she was tired of waiting for me to get over her cheating and she wanted me to have proposed by now. I had intended to propose about a month from then. Just wasn't meant to be I guess.

​She and I haven't spoken since. I'm now happily married and am thankful that it went down the way it did. Learned a lot from her.

fliteriskk

10. The guy who just knew right away:

Female here. I said no. But to be fair, it was a third date. We were at Outback Steakhouse, of all things (I was a vegetarian at the time) and he proposed at dessert. Got down on one knee, had a ring (that I have to believe he already had) and people looked on super excited. I asked if he could talk outside, he said no, so I said no.

He ran out of the restaurant crying, and the waitress came up to me and said, “How could you?” It was any of her business, so I walked out, got in my car, and left. A few hours later he showed up at my house begging me. It should be noted that he had never been to my house, and I had yet to give him my address.

ElleFemme28

11. The garden proposal:

My stepdad proposed to my mom after they had been gardening. It was a bouquet of weeds and dead flowers, so my mom thought he was just goofing around and said no in a joking manner. This happened a couple of times.

About a year later we ended up talking to them, and if they were to get married and my stepdad said ”well, I keep asking, and you keep declining” my mom told him that she thought he was joking, and he apparently did something like it again later, where she said yes.

Their entire relationship is really goofy. No one expected him to do something super romantic for a proposal. It could have easily been just another joke of his. They both love gardening, so a joking proposal with garden weeds seemed quite perfect for them.

fupart

12. The bachelor mistake:

Friend of mine dated this guy for years, they bought a house, got a dog, got engaged, all seemed perfect.

Except one month before the wedding he cheats on her at his bachelor party. The wedding gets called off. It was a messy situation, especially since they had property to divide.

Anyways, the guy decides to start a relationship with this one night stand from the bachelor party. He moves across the country to be with her. They date for a year, then get engaged.

Meanwhile, my friend meets an amazing man and they end up getting engaged, too. Both couples end up setting their weddings to be on the exact same day. Except, cheater boy’s one night stand fiancé cheats on him at her bachelorette party and calls off the wedding a week before.

It’s been a few years now, my friend is still married to her husband, they have a couple of kids, and seem happy. No idea what happened to cheater boy or one night stand girl.

howdylibbyrue

13. Fear of flying to marriage:

I decided I'd pop the question during a vacation, I was to ask once our plane landed. In the air she turned to me and stated, "we have something to talk about when we get back."

Months prior to this she had moved to another part of our state to attend classes. I didn't know but, she had been spending time with a guy she meet there. I was aware of him, but just through stories of "people I go to school with."

Back to flight; Her: "Well, you know so-'n-so? I've been seeing him and don't think you and I should do this anymore."

There the box and ring sat in my right pocket, and there it remained. As far as I know, she still doesn't know what I had planned. And honestly, I'm the better for it. The vacation was long and awkward from such a revelation.

yeah__probably

14. The move proposal rejection:

My dad proposed to my mom on Valentine’s day in an alley when it was pouring down rain and she was standing right by the gutter. It was all just too horribly cheesy for her and she wasn’t ready yet so she said no.

They stayed together after the failed proposal, but after 6 or so months my mom had it in her head that if he didn’t propose again soon she needed to move on. My mom was very beautiful, and she was loyal to my dad but she had other guys just waiting for her to break up with him so they could get at her.

After a while she could tell my dad wasn’t going to propose so she said “fuck it” and proposed to him. They’ve been married 25 years now, with two fully grown kids, and they just keep falling in love more every day.

princesslunaxxx

15. And finally, the sweetest of endings:

My grandfather proposed to my grandmother the night he met her at a military ball since he was suppose to leave for deployment the next week (World War II Navy Officer). My grandmother said no, but to ask when he got back. He came back, tracked her down, and asked again. She said yes. They were married for over 60 years before he passed away.

Spydereye