As the Rose of Tralee returns to our screens tonight we look back on what was probably the most awkward moment ever that happened on the show: the proposal.
The entire country was left cringing with embarrassment when New Orleans Rose Molly Molloy Gamble kept saying no to her boyfriend Kyle Catlett when he got down on one knee in 2013.
The live proposal was set up by Rose of Tralee host Daithi O Se as he invited Molly’s boyfriend out on stage during her interview, pretending that it was part of a stunt.
Instead, Kyle reached into his suit pocket for a ring and got down on one knee, saying: “Molly Molloy… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?”
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The 23-year-old university graduate was visibly shaking as she said: “Oh my, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please don’t, no, no, Kyle please stop.”
Molly said “no” 11 times before finally saying “yes” - much to the relief of those watching at home.
Kyle took it very well as he smiled and handed his emotional fiancée the ring afterwards, saying: “We’ve got tissues.”
Daithi had to double check that Molly had accepted the proposal before she left the stage, asking the couple: “Did you say yes?” as Molly revealed that she did say “yes” in the end.
Despite the rocky proposal, the pair got married nine months later in May 2014, celebrating their wedding in a romantic ceremony at Sacred Heart Church in Fairhope, Alabama in front of almost 300 guests.
The wedding was captured for a 2014 RTE documentary named 'The Proposal’, which followed Kyle and Molly's journey after the infamous moment.
Molly has since said that her initial negative response to Kyle’s proposal was just nerves and that they now look back fondly on the clip as a “great memory”.
Nine years later the couple, now 32, are happily married and have grown their family, welcoming a baby girl, Catherine Ann Catlett, into the world in 2020.
Host Daithi O Se has said he remembers the live marriage proposal as one of the most shocking moments he ever witnessed while hosting the show.
Daithi said in a 2018 interview : “I’ve had no real embarrassing moments but the night of the proposal and the man went out and proposed live on stage and she was saying ‘no, no, no.’
“And I was like [mortified]. And then she said yes. I thought, Oh, thanks be to Jesus!
“There was a borderline embarrassing moment for the whole organisation.
“They got married and I was invited to the wedding but I couldn’t go as I was working. They are still married.
“People said, ‘that was a great gimmick’ and I said it wasn’t a gimmick at all. It was genuine.”
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