--- title: Man Proposes to Girlfriend with 99 iPhone 6s, Gets Rejected description: Happy Singles' Day! canonical: https://time.com/3578279/man-99-iphone-proposal/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-11T16:37:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:19.302Z og:title: Man Proposes to Girlfriend with 99 iPhone 6s, Gets Rejected og:description: Happy Singles' Day! og:url: https://time.com/3578279/man-99-iphone-proposal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Man Proposes to Girlfriend with 99 iPhone 6s, Gets Rejected twitter:description: Happy Singles' Day! twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Man Buys 99 iPhone 6s to Propose to Girlfriend, Gets Rejected > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=12df9dc6-be75-41e6-9d10-c0c64ede7fbf&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Nov 11, 2014 4:37 PM UTC by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Nov 11, 2014 4:37 PM UTC If you’re planning an elaborate proposal, you should probably know the girl is going to say “yes.” That was not the case for one Chinese programmer, [Sina Technology reports](http://tech.sina.com.cn/t/2014-11-08/doc-icczmvum9688319.shtml). The unnamed man decided to spend two years of savings on 99 iPhone 6s—costing an estimated $85,000—arrange them in the shape of a heart, and then very publicly propose to his girlfriend. And… she reportedly said no. > [](https://twitter.com/ljoesonly/status/532095394344210432) Maybe if he had sprung for the iPhone 6 Plus… The proposal came right in time for China’s Singles’ Day — a holiday that falls on 11/11 — which many [Chinese bachelors celebrate by online shopping, and ending their single-dom](http://time.com/3576381/china-singles-day-history/). It’s probably safe to assume this newly single programmer will not be buying himself an iPhone. ### PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today  1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I. Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images  1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point'). Keystone/Holton/Getty Images  1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London. Kypros/Getty Images  1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work. Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5\. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith. Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images  1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25. Mark Lennihan—AP  1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. India Today Group/Getty Images  2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11. Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images  2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo. Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images  2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images  2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones. Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP _Read next:_ [_How China’s Singles’ Day Holiday Sold Out_](http://time.com/3576381/china-singles-day-history/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3578279/man-99-iphone-proposal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3578279/man-99-iphone-proposal/"},"headline":"Man Buys 99 iPhone 6s to Propose to Girlfriend, Gets Rejected","datePublished":"2014-11-11T16:37:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:19.302Z","description":"Happy Singles' Day!","url":"https://time.com/3578279/man-99-iphone-proposal/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","China","Proposal"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3578279/man-99-iphone-proposal/","name":"Man Buys 99 iPhone 6s to Propose to Girlfriend, Gets Rejected"}}]}] ```