--- ---  # The Emmy Winner Who Used His Speech to Propose to His Girlfriend Got Everyone Emotional by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:34 PM UTCPublished: Sep 18, 2018 2:18 AM UTC  Glenn Weiss, winner of the Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special award for 'The Oscars,' and Jan Svendsen react after getting engaged onstage during the 70th Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2018 in Los Angeles. Glenn Weiss, winner of the Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special award for 'The Oscars,' and Jan Svendsen react after getting engaged onstage during the 70th Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2018 in Los Angeles.Kevin Winter—Getty Images by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:34 PM UTCPublished: Sep 18, 2018 2:18 AM UTC Everyone expected Monday night’s [70th Primetime Emmy Awards](http://time.com/5398668/emmy-winers-2018/) ceremony to consist of wins, losses, jokes and emotions — but nobody expected it to feature a proposal. About an hour and a half into the event, things took a turn for the different when Glenn Weiss, a director and producer, won the Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special award for his direction of the 2017 Academy Awards. > [](https://twitter.com/jbillinson/status/1041863568545796096) For viewers wondering why such an award was presented live during the Primetime Emmy Awards tonight, as it is typically presented during the Daytime Emmy Awards, perhaps the showrunners were in cahoots with Weiss, who proposed to his girlfriend, Jan Svendsen, during his acceptance speech. Weiss asked Svendsen to come up to the stage and he began talking about his late mother, who Weiss said tragically passed only two weeks ago. “Mom always believed in finding the sunshine in things and she adored my girlfriend Jan. Jan, you are the sunshine in my life,” Weiss said. “And Mom was right: don’t ever let go of your sunshine. You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife.” Svendsen joined him onstage, and he presented her with a ring. Needless to say, Twitter users had a lot of emotions about the situation — some joking about how they cared so much about a couple they had never heard of. > [](https://twitter.com/tictoc/status/1041863407606149120) > [](https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/1041863511134167040) > [](https://twitter.com/Jesst%5FLovely/status/1041863157210402816) > [](https://twitter.com/iwearthetiaira/status/1041863043590701056) > [](https://twitter.com/Vonn69/status/1041863184737546240) > [](https://twitter.com/jessewente/status/1041862551628333056) > [](https://twitter.com/QueenLesli/status/1041862543189274624) > [](https://twitter.com/JulietsBridal/status/1041863188382470145) > [](https://twitter.com/grove245/status/1041863449997922304) Actors in the audience at the Emmys had some pretty intense reactions, too: Some looked shocked, some couldn’t help but smile, and Claire Foy cried. > [](https://twitter.com/itgetsbedder/status/1041864255807651840) > [](https://twitter.com/SttefyG/status/1041865117581889536) > [](https://twitter.com/mishajackles/status/1041864405342986240) Perhaps Leslie Jones had the best reaction to the proposal of all. > [](https://twitter.com/savagkat/status/1041865601462009856) > [](https://twitter.com/Lesdoggg/status/1041864362443517953) Glenn Weiss Proposes to Girlfriend at Emmys 2018: Reactions ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5399057/proposal-emmys-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5399057/proposal-emmys-2018/"},"headline":"The Emmy Winner Who Used His Speech to Propose to His Girlfriend Got Everyone Emotional","datePublished":"2018-09-18T02:18:13.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T17:34:38.000Z","description":"Director Glenn Weiss used his acceptance speech to propose to his girlfriend","url":"https://time.com/5399057/proposal-emmys-2018/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","awards","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc57d23edc5411d84/69893a784ee262f377312e2e/70-emmy-awards-red-carpet-television-022a.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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