Man’s Olympic proposal criticized for alleged theft

These are not the Olympic rings they are referring to.

This month, Olympian Liu Yuchen proposed to his girlfriend, Chinese badminton player Huang Yaqiong, after she won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics – but the tender moment sparked tension online, with social media critics slamming him for stealing her spotlight.

In a proposal video, Yaqiong proudly displays the glittering gold medal around her neck, while Yuchen kneels on the ground and proposes to her: “I will love you forever! Will you marry me?” After slipping the ring on Yaqiong’s finger, he kissed her left hand, and the couple took photos together amid the cheers of the crowd.

But not everyone was as thrilled as Yaqiong, who said in a statement to reporters that it was “very surprising” after the video of the proposal went viral.

“If my boyfriend did the same thing I would slam him and then stand on the podium,” one user on X criticized.

“Propose to me after I win the gold medal? You’ll never hear from me again babe! This can only be about you,” quipped another.

“Men always want the spotlight. That was her moment, and then the men came,” commented one indignant observer.

But on Instagram, Yajon thanked her fiancé for “making me so happy” and enthused to reporters that “this ring fits my finger perfectly.”

The Olympian isn’t the only athlete to win gold in the City of Love.

U.S. shot putter Payton Otterdahl proposed to girlfriend Maddie Niles in front of the Eiffel Tower, while U.S. gold medalist and Olympic rower Justin Best proposed on live television.

During an interview with the Today Show on Monday, he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Lainie Duncan.

“I knew you were special — it was a first date. I said to you, ‘I want to go to the Olympics,’ and without hesitation you said, ‘Of course. Go ahead,'” he said, according to Today.

He called her the love of his life and asked her the “simplest question”: “Will you marry me?”

“I was as nervous as I was standing at the starting line,” Best told TODAY magazine after proposing, winning the United States’ first gold medal in the men’s rowing four since 1960. “I don’t know — if I had put on a heart rate monitor, my heart would have probably been 130 beats a minute.”

He added: “I got the gold and the girl – and she got the diamonds!”