John & Rena

[SusanBeth]

I wonder if anyone has ever said no in one of these public proposals? I would not like this to happen in public because it puts the other perosn on the spot.......maybe they feel they have to say yes at the time and then figure a way out afterwards.

Oh well, if they are happy, that's great!

Didn't a guy on one of those bachelor shows end up dropping both the 2 finalists at the end? Saying he could not marry either one? He sure took a lot of heat for that one.............

I saw a clip of man who proposed at a basketball game. It was at center court with an announcer and a man in a mascot suit. (i believe it was some kind of bird). Anyway, the poor girl was so horrified that she tried to run away. but her exit was blocked.. I assume the answer was "NO!"

I found it.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=rpSxoAew7ZU

 

[heyang]

I've never particularly enjoyed his skating, but I thought their LP performance was the best they've done in quite sometime. I liked the music and costumes and they performed it well.

I enjoyed his proposal, too. He didn't wait for her to face him and then went down on his knee. He got down 1st and then waited for her to turn around.

I agree that it seemed like she wasn't as excited as he was. It seems like she was stunned and I can't imagine that she was crying because she was upset about it. I can only think that she was torn between reacting to the proposal and wondering what their scores were.

I remember someone calling into WPLJ to propose on air to his girlfriend on Valentine's Day several years ago. They warned him that he might get turned down, but he insisted. When they called her at work, she did seem annoyed with the proposal. He pushed and said 'so, do you have an answer?' Instead of asking to take it off air, she responded 'Well, if you're going to push for an answer now, the answer is 'No' and she hung up. The DJ's didn't know what to say and he was upset.

But wait, there's more. Apparently, a lot of her friends heard her on the radio and gave her a hard time about it. A couple of hours later, she called the DJ's and asked if they could help her talk to him. She explained that she was reacting to be putting on the spot. The radio station gave them a limo and dinner for the night so they could talk it out and they did get engaged.

But wait, there's more. Of course, everyone wanted a follow up the following year. The DJ's couldn't find the phone #'s, but the guy was still a loyal listener and called. He told them that they broke it off and he was very happy that they did not get married after all.

 

[Tonichelle]

Considering other skaters have done this same thing (Kurt to Sonia - spur of the moment / Scott to Tracie - seemed planned, eh? / Hongbo to Xue - she didn't get it lol) I wasn't as annoyed as a lot of people in the rink...

was it her way of wanting to be proposed to, probably not, but I hope they're happy together.

http://alaskanmagic.smugmug.com/photos/248825947-M.jpg​

 

[attyfan]

I would be very surprised to find out that they had never discussed the possibility of marriage before. I think he knew what the answer would be before he ever asked.

Also, I think it significant that they got married after Rena became a citizen -- the privacy they will have because the Immigration authorities won't be nosing around to determine if the wedding is a fraud to get citizenship will outweigh the public proposal.

Many years of joy to them!!

 

[Antilles]

I've never understood the point of a proposal, period. If it's not a decision you both gradually come to, it seems to me like there's a problem in the relationship. I also don't get why men are expected to make such a big fuss out of asking (and I'm a female).

Ranting aside, it was nice of him to try to make it special for them. He seems to genuinely adore her. While she looked less than thrilled, I agree with those who think it was just surprise and her reserved nature. Good luck to them.

 

[kyla2]

Less Than Thrilled

She looked less than thrilled to me too and I can understand why. Doing something like that is for public display/effect. I really don't think she was happy. That is something that should be done during a personal and private occasion. However, let's hope they have a long and happy life together.

 

[heyang]

I've never understood the point of a proposal, period. If it's not a decision you both gradually come to, it seems to me like there's a problem in the relationship. I also don't get why men are expected to make such a big fuss out of asking (and I'm a female).

I think people want a 'story' for what is a milestone moment in their lives. It certainly doesn't require a public display, but people want it to be memorable. If I ever meet the right guy, I would prefer him proposing at a meaningful location vs the jumbotron at a athletic event.

Some of my guy friends have been somewhat 'lame' and others have been creative. Lame = proposing while driving the car down the expressway as he passes the exit for where his grandparents lived. They got divorced within 5 years. Cute - my friend didn't like her boyfriend's mustache and told him she wouldn't marry him with a mustache. When they were out for dinner, he went to the restroom, shaved and then waited for her to say something. She did notice, but didn't know what to think and he finally had to ask her if she had noticed anything at all and then he proposed.

 

[pipsqueak]

Some observations:

Just some observations:

1. Rena is a private, quiet person who often looks too shy to ask
the time of day....sometimes seeming aloof or embarassed or
taking a step back in conversation.

2. It was entirely appropriate that John should have asked her to marry him
on the ice in what is probably their last US Nationals: ALL the Baldwins
grew up on the ice; John's own parents met and married on ice ; Rena
became a US citizen in order to compete with John.....

All in all, I'd say their investment in their skating lives/careers is all-encompassing and covers every aspect--from citizenship to parentage, to rearing and career. I see no "grandstanding" in this. I see two people who truly lived their lives thus far on ice and behaved accordingly when it came to taking the next important step in their relationship. It was nice to include their extremely extended "skating family" (audience, friends, fans, family) in the declaration.

 

[dorispulaski]

For those who are interested, here's a link to what they both say about it on their website:

http://www.inoueandbaldwin.com/2008nationals.html

As John Baldwin and Rena Inoue took their bows, John dropped to his knees and asked his longtime girlfriend to marry him. She appeared stunned — or maybe she just couldn’t hear — and he asked her a second time before she said yes, hugging him as tears rolled down her face.

“I didn’t know. He didn’t tell me and I don’t think he told anybody,” Inoue said. “At first I was just so shocked. I didn’t know what was going on here.”

Said Baldwin, “We’ve talked about marriage for a long time, and I always told Rena, ‘Well, you can ask me.’ She said that’s not the way it’s done.... I told her she’s the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, how much respect I have for her and that everything I’ve accomplished in my career and on the ice is because of her.”

Apparently they had been slagging each other off for years as to who was going to ask whom first. (he has said elsewhere that he had planned to do it at Worlds last year, but given their poor performance it was neither the time nor the place. Looks like Rena won the argument.

 

[txwebfan]

I hope their happy. They seem like a nice couple.
Does anyone have video of the other proposals? I didn't realise that Kurt proposed on ice. I have heard that he and Sonia were like "velcro" on the tour bus.

Personally, I just hope I get a proposal from the right guy at some point.

 

[dorispulaski]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-elliott2feb02,1,7207844.column?ctrack=3&cset=true

The L.A. Times did a more thorough interview with Rena, for those who want to know what she is thinking.

I still like the idea of a Snoopy & Woodstock wedding ring