Unique Jewels Blog

Unique Jewels Blog
September 25th, 2014
A romantic paddle boat ride on the Wisconsin River with a bunch of close friends seemed to be an ideal place for the dapper Shane to pop the question to his lovely girlfriend, Cheri.

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Well, it wasn’t. And the 42-second video chronicling a romantic marriage proposal that goes terribly wrong has been seen by 4.2 million YouTube viewers, and counting.

The first 15 seconds of the video seem fairly routine, as we see a paddleboat packed with about 10 people floating leisurely down the river near Muscoda, Wis.

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Then the camera pans to a long shot of a bunch of friends on the shore calling to Cheri and holding up four signs that read, “Will You Marry Me?”

Next, the camera turns back to our hero, who has pulled out a diamond ring and is in mid-proposal when the unthinkable happens...

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In her excitement, Cheri playfully taps Shane’s arm, jarring the ring from his grasp and sending it flying into the river.

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A panicked Shane tries to reach into the water, but the ring is already gone. He looks at his girlfriend in disbelief and shouts, “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”

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Then, he steps off the paddleboat and into the knee-deep water to start the search. Cheri remains on the boat with her hands pressed to her mouth, sobbing.

(At this point, all future bridal couples should make a mental note: Diamond engagement rings and large bodies of water do not mix.)

The video landed on YouTube exactly a week ago. Even though it quickly went viral, we didn’t write about it at the time because very few details were available about the couple or what happened next. Shane, who has a YouTube handle of “Swilk 16,” didn’t identify himself or his girlfriend, but did include this short description of the video: “A couple of weeks ago I proposed to my girlfriend. Here is what happened.”

A few days ago, a friend of the couple, Elias Eitsert, came forward with more info. He told The Daily News that the group searched the river for two days but were unable to find the ring. He also reported that the couple is happily engaged despite the ring being at the bottom of the river.

There is also a good possibility that the viral nature of the video is generating revenue for the couple as a result of YouTube's Partnership Program. Viral videos that stand the test of time can earn thousands of dollars a month for their creators. Perhaps Shane and Cheri will put some of the proceeds toward a new engagement ring.

Screen captures via YouTube