Maddie Anderson has just had the proposal of a lifetime, however, it started off like any other Saturday.
Her boyfriend Tyler went to the gym for a game of basketball, which he did every weekend. After he left, Maddie received a text message from a friend, who invited her to go shopping.
Then, she received a knock on the door, finding her neighbour holding a large manila envelope and a bandana.
"She handed me the envelope and the bandana, and at first, I thought it might be some mail that got delivered to her by mistake. But she lingered, and I was like, 'Okay, I'm trying to get ready, why are you still here?'"
Maddie is a huge Law & Order: SVU fan, and when she had a better look at the bandana, she saw an inscription.
"It said 'Operation find Ty.' There were details about attire and the weather, written as if I were a detective on a mission to find Tyler by sunset for a special reward."
Maddie followed the instructions down to the letter, including wearing comfortable shoes. The first clue led her to a coffee shop, where she met one of her best friends.
"She was in full character, 'Hey, I'm here to give you your first mission. I'm one of the operation coordinators.' I was like, 'Okay, what's going on?' She sat me down and immediately played the video from rapper and actor Ice-T, and I was completely shocked."
"Ice-T said, 'You have a mission, follow the clues,' and then there was a flash of a ring in the video."
Maddie and Tyler had been together for 10 years, and she began to realise he was going to propose to her.
She was then sent on a 12-hour investigation, following clues given to her by friends and family.
"Ty had hired a private driver and a black SUV. This guy was in a suit and picked me up. Every time I got in the car, my mind was racing. I was thinking, 'Who am I meeting?' 'What's happening?' 'This is insane.'"
One clue led her to the San Diego Zoo, where she met a friend who gave her a red panda hat and told her to were it as an undercover disguise.
Then they headed to the tortoise exhibit, where she and her friends fed the tortoises lettuce.
When the lettuce bucket was almost empty, Maddie revealed her friends said, "Oh look, there's something in the bucket." It was a baggie that had a map of the zoo and a torch.
"I was like, why a flashlight? It's the middle of the day. So, I'm examining this map, turning it around, trying to figure out what it means. Then I realize, okay, I guess I have to shine this light on it. I moved into the shade and started shining the light, revealing that Tyler had written the next clue in invisible ink on the map, which led me to the penguins."
"Tyler had arranged for us to get backstage access to see the penguins, which was amazing. We got to unwind a bit and enjoy watching them. They're so cute. Then my friend gave me a gift from the penguins, which was this bracelet with 'Japanese Friendship Garden' engraved on it. I realized that must be the next place I was going."
Later on in the day, Maddie met her cousin at a speakeasy and was handed a clue that led her to Nordstrom, a US department store. There she met her mother and her cousin's daughter who had a dress for her.
"Then I got in the car and they blindfolded me, which was not comfortable at all, especially since I get carsick. I had no idea where we were going. At this point, obviously, I'm in a dress, preparing myself for Ty. I'm thinking this is probably a proposal."
When the car stopped, Maddie removed her blindfold, seeing she was at Torrey Pines State Reserve. Her father, who passed away in 2013, had proposed to her mother there.
"That was the biggest surprise of the day, honestly, because it hadn't crossed my mind. Not only was it the same place, but Ty had spoken with my mom and discovered the exact spot where my dad proposed to her."
"I was already crying. My mom was crying. It was so sweet because she held my hand and walked me up to the exact spot. We shared a hug, and then I approached Ty's set up with a blanket and flowers."
"He proposed, I said yes, and we hugged. That's when I noticed one of my good friends, who is a photographer, and Ty's best friend were also there."
Afterwards, Maddie shared the experience on TikTok. The videos went viral and gained over 320,000 views.
"It's funny, my fiancé is not huge into games. I love true crime. Those aren't his interests at all. Sometimes men need to be told things a lot to remember but there was never a point where I mentioned specific locations as like, 'Oh, you should propose to me here,' or 'This place is so special, or 'We should do something here.' That was all him."
"If this is how he proposed, I'm just excited to see how our wedding is and when we have kids and they have birthdays, he's just so thoughtful, I think. I can't wait to see what else he does."
Comments
Post a Comment