By Mark McConville
THE HILARIOUS moment this lucky woman nearly had a meltdown after her boyfriend dropped to one knee could be the most eye-popping “freak-out” to a proposal you are likely to see.
Senior Manager of Visual Merchandising Amanda Johnson (28) can’t believe her eyes as her police officer boyfriend Matt Zagaja (29) pops the question on the beach in the picturesque surroundings of Positano, Italy.
Matt set the scene for his unsuspecting girlfriend by pretending he was setting the camera up on a self-timer so they could get the perfect photograph.
In reality he had the video recording, so he could capture his perfect proposal and Amanda’s surprised reaction on camera.
“We had the trip to the Amalfi Coast planned, but he for sure was throwing me off big time, months before the trip,” explained Amanda.
“If I would ever hint about getting engaged in the most beautiful Positano, he would shut me down. When we arrived in Italy, we had planned to have dinner in Positano the second day of our trip, which is where he ended up popping the question.
“I remember he was carrying his suit jacket in 90-degree weather, and little did I know, he was hiding the ring in that pocket, so that I would not notice it. We walked down the hill to the beach in Positano to the iconic spot with all of the colourful beach chairs and umbrellas. I was bugging Matt to take a photo of just me in the iconic spot, but he was waiting for the perfect moment when the sun was just behind the mountain.
“He set up his camera and phone to record the video, on top of a champagne bucket that he put on top of a beach chair. I did not think this was that strange, because we always use the self-timer to take the perfect photo of each other on vacations. He also had a rubber band wrapped around the button on his camera to continually take photos of the big moment.
“He finally steps over to take a photo with me and the video shows our true, raw reaction. I thought we were simply taking a photo, and he all of a sudden pulls out a ring box and gets down on one knee. I could not believe my eyes and completely freaked when I saw the ring was exactly what I had always dreamed of, from my favourite designer, Lauren B.”
The couple, who are both from New Jersey, USA, met two and a half years ago in New York City at a night club before having their first date the very next day.
Amanda hopes her raw reaction on the video can encourage everyone to simply be themselves.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be spending the rest of my life with Matt, the man of my dreams and the one who deserves all of the credit for this amazing video, which ended up going viral and has over 500K views on my Instagram,” she said.
“We do not have many wedding plans set yet, but we do know that we would like to have a summer wedding somewhere close to the beach, or somewhere with a view of NYC as we both share a love for sunny weather, the water, and the place we met, NYC.
“A message I would like to convey is to always be yourself in all aspects of life, and do not be afraid to love wildly. When I met Matt, I knew he was the one for me, because we had this special spark and connection from the start.
“All I ever wanted was to spend my life travelling with him, and now we can truly live our dream together. Some people would say that I had an ‘ugly cry’ in the video, but I do not care, because it shows how happy I was in the moment and how much I truly love Matt.
“I want people to not be afraid to be vulnerable or ‘ugly’ on social media, because that is what real life is all about, not everything that is beautiful should be edited or filtered.”
