Man’s wedding proposal halfway through girlfriend's first marathon divides the Internet

Thanks to the social media age, marriage proposals have grown increasingly competitive with the need for the major life event to be gram-worthy, sentimental and a story worthy enough to tell the grandkids.

But despite one man’s heartfelt efforts, his big gesture has left the Internet divided.

Kaitlyn Curran was running Sunday’s New York City Marathon blissfully unaware that her boyfriend was planning to pop the question. As she reached mile 16 of her first ever marathon, her partner of four years, Dennis Galvin, hopped over the barrier to get down on one knee.

Galvin’s cousin, Kathleen Figueroa, told CBS News: “She [Curran] cried a little bit, said yes, hugged him and then said ‘OK, I have to go finish my race’.”

With the engagement ring on her finger, the bride-to-be continued the last leg of the marathon – finishing with a time of 4 hours and 24 minutes.

Yet despite the fact that marathon proposals now frequently grace the Internet, Twitter users were less than impressed with the timing of the engagement.

One took to the social media platform to tweet, “He couldn’t propose to her at the finish line?”

While another agreed, writing: “He messed her time up so badly.”

Another recalled their own proposal admitting that they wouldn’t have been as inclined to say yes if her boyfriend hadn’t had waited until after the marathon.

“As someone who was proposed to at the NYC Marathon AFTER I finished, I would 100% say no if it was during. #womenalwaysneedtocomefirst,” they wrote.

Another tweeted [sic]: “If he really loved her, he would’ve waited until after the race, given her a massage, taken her to a nice dinner, left her alone all night so she could have a nice long rest, woke her up the next morning with homemade waffles and strawberries, then asked her to marry him. Geez.”

“Women can never just finish first, can we?”, one joked.

Despite the backlash, some (albeit a few) social media users were impressed by the gesture.

“Maybe he just knew that the time wasn’t that big a deal to her and she loved him so she said ‘Yes’ and that’s all there is too it,” one tweeted. “Seems like some people who aren’t married are getting well upset about these two people being busy with their awful happiness.”

What do you think?

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