This Marriage Proposal Went Completely, Horribly Wrong

1 minute read

In what appears to be every boyfriend’s worst nightmare, a man got down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend on a deck outside a waterfront restaurant in Southport, North Carolina, when he dropped the ring through the cracks into the ocean.

WBTV.com reports 25-year-old Matthew Picca jumped in, along with 24-year-old girlfriend Kayla Harrity’s brother-in-law and sister and some patrons of the restaurant, Old American Fish. Picca even ruined his phone during the desperate search.

But, Harrity said, “[a]fter ten flashlights, and five pairs of goggles and over 1.5 hours of searching in the water…the ring was found!” Picca got to propose all over again, and Harrity said yes, so the incident is just water under the bridge now.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com