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Updated May 15, 2024US Rower Justin Best Proposes to Girlfriend On Live TV at the Olympics
"I got the gold and the girl!"
The 2024 Olympics may just be the hottest place to get engaged this summer. On August 5, US rower Justin Best proposed to his girlfriend, Lainey Duncan, during an appearance on the Today Show. The sweet moment occurred just hours after Best made history by helping Team USA win gold in the rowing competition for the first time in 64 years.
"Lainey Olivia Duncan, you are the love of my life," the 26-year-old athlete told his girlfriend as he dropped to one knee on live television. "You have been with me since day one. I knew you were special since our first date when I said to you, 'I want to go to the Olympics' and you, without question, said, 'Absolutely go for it.'"
He continued, "You are stunningly beautiful, ferociously intelligent—your kindness is leaps and bounds...I don't know anyone that doesn't love you." Then, before calling it the "easiest question of his life," Best said, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you and raise a family together. Lainey, will you marry me?"
Overcome with emotion, Duncan happily accepted before calling it "the best day of my life."
The couple's family flew to Paris for the occasion, and they held a whopping 2,738 yellow roses during the engagement—each flower representing the couple's impressive Snapchat streak. "Our love is truly now immortalized and I am so, so happy," he said of the thoughtful decor, which was provided by the app. "I got the gold and the girl, and she got the diamond."
Today Show hosts Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin and Al Roker shared in the couple's joy, with Roker saying, "This is the starting line for the first day of the rest of your lives."
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Best's engagement isn't the only Olympic proposal we've seen so far in Paris. Ahead of the games, US swimmer Lilly King got engaged to boyfriend James Wells after securing her spot on Team USA at the trials in Indiana. Then, just before the Opening Ceremonies began, Argentinian handball player Pablo Simonet proposed to his girlfriend, Maria Campoy, who plays on Argentina's field hockey team.
Later, Chinese badminton player Huang Yaqiong received a proposal from her partner, fellow Olympian Liu Yuchen, immediately after receiving her gold medal on the podium. And on August 4, US shot putter Payton Otterdahl popped the question to his girlfriend Maddy Nilles in front of the Eiffel Tower.
