Never feel pressured to say yes to a public marriage proposal

One can’t be sure of when it became the cool thing to do, but public proposals have been in our faces for so long now that one might be fooled into thinking that’s the only known way to propose.

From Cinemas halls to NYSC passing out parades, to church services, concerts, events, right in traffic, malls and just pretty much everywhere you can get attention.

Public, attention-grabbing proposals are not criminal and there’s absolutely nothing wrong in going down that route if that’s the way you choose to roll.

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What’s only worrying is the seeming pressure that gets mounted on women to say yes in these instances. Pressure which, in my most sincere opinion, is undue and totally unnecessary.

[No available link text]At the time of writing this piece, there’s a clip causing some debate on social media. In the clip, a certain guy gets on a bent knee at the mall to propose to his babe in the presence of her friends and the girl just walks away from him and the extended ring without saying a word.

It turns out, according to a post later put on Instagram by the lady, that the guy is allegedly a serial cheat who has slept with her friend and her friend’s younger sister.

While there’s the question of why she’s still with him despite being unhappy and disturbed by his actions, refusing to be swayed into saying yes just because of the venue and witnesses is commendable, admirable, and something that more women need to learn from.

What she did - choosing to walk away from that guy due to doubts created by his character flaws - is the best thing to do.

When a guy chooses to propose when you are yet unready for that level of commitment or you’re not comfortable enough to take that leap with him, you need to learn to say an emphatic no!

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It does not matter where he did it – in church, at your family get-together, in class, at the airport, anywhere – you need to walk away.

Obviously, it is easier to say no when it’s just the two of you at his apartment when he proposes. When it is in public places, it appears that it is slightly more difficult to say no.

Most women think of all the people present, all the flashing cameras and the huge embarrassment it’d cause to say no in such situation.

But the fear of embarrassing him in the presence of people should not deter you from saying no. Those flashing cameras should not force you to say yes.

See, any guy who feels comfortable enough to propose to you in public should be presumed ready and comfortable with the worst happening in public.

If a marriage that lasts a lifetime and brings you happiness and peace of mind is what you crave, you cannot allow something as superficial as a public proposal lead you away from it.

Even if you choose to say no because you’ve expressly said to him in the past that you hate public proposals, please go ahead and do it.

If it’ll rob you of your joy and peace of mind, then don’t do it. It does not matter who’s there or not, just shake your head, swing those hips and walk away.

That lady at the mall appears to have done the smart and wise thing for herself by walking away from that proposal and more women need to be like her.