Reporter Investigates ... Her Own Marriage Proposal

Maryanne Firth, a reporter in Welland, Ontario, didn't mind that it was her turn to work last weekend. She'd finally get to learn what was behind the mysterious pink heart posters that started popping up all over town in late April: New ones had recently arrived alongside their blank predecessors, indicating something would happen at Chippawa Park on Sunday afternoon. She had been covering the story for weeks, even starting a hashtag for it, notes CTV News: #WellandHearts. Armed with a notepad, camera, and plenty of curiosity, Firth—along with dozens of other curious onlookers—braved the rain only to find a man in a tent wearing a suit and a box, adorned with the signature pink heart, over his head.

After handing out flowers to the onlookers, the man removed the box and got down on one knee. Right in front of Firth. Looking exactly like her boyfriend of eight years. According to her account in Canoe, Ryan St. Denis then asked if she'd spend the rest of her life with him, and she shook and she cried and she said yes. Only after many more tears were shed and photos taken, Firth realized she hadn't taken any of her own. "Sure is hard to cover a story when it turns out the news is you," she writes. "It all boils down to the fact that Ryan St. Denis knows me better than I know myself. ... He knew my nose for news would drive me to unearth the secret." (Another perk: The heartfelt proposal didn't end up newsworthy for the wrong reasons.)