--- description: Magician Neil Henry proposes to girlfriend with alphabet soup trick title: Watch a Magician Propose to His Girlfriend With a Magic Trick image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch a Magician Propose to His Girlfriend With a Magic Trick  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Aug 26, 2015 9:15 PM CUT  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Aug 26, 2015 9:15 PM CUT A London magician had an especially romantic trick up his sleeve on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After appearing to swallow a piece of string and a wine glass full of alphabet soup, Neil Henry, 37, proposed to his girlfriend Charlie Gardner, 23, by pulling a string out of his mouth with letters that spelled out “MARRY ME.” Then he got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. Fortunately she was not overcome with alphabet soup, and she blurted out ‘yes’ repeatedly. The couple told the [Scottish _Daily Record_](http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/theatre/watch-magician-propose-front-audience-6318248 "undefined") that they have been going to the arts festival every year since they first met at the event in 2013, but Gardner claims she never thought an on-stage proposal would be in the cards. As she [told the news outlet](http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/theatre/watch-magician-propose-front-audience-6318248 "undefined"), “At first I thought he was going to spell out Marmite with the letters.” (h/t [Uproxx](http://uproxx.com/webculture/2015/08/magician-propose-girlfriend-onstage/ "undefined")) _Read more:_ [_This Was Voted the Funniest Joke at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival_](http://time.com/4009495/edinburgh-fringe-festival/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4012149/magician-proposal-alphabet-soup/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4012149/magician-proposal-alphabet-soup/"},"headline":"Watch a Magician Propose to His Girlfriend With a Magic Trick","datePublished":"2015-08-26T21:15:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:23:54.443Z","description":"The magical moment involved a can of alphabet soup","url":"https://time.com/4012149/magician-proposal-alphabet-soup/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Family & Relationships"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"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/4012149/magician-proposal-alphabet-soup/","name":"Watch a Magician Propose to His Girlfriend With a Magic Trick"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"5 Elements of A Viral Video","description":"5 Elements of A Viral Video","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vgQtqA8c/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-22T13:42:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vgQtqA8c.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4012149/magician-proposal-alphabet-soup/","duration":"PT1M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4012149/magician-proposal-alphabet-soup/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```