On August 5, men’s four rowing gold medalist Justin Best got down on one knee in front of the Eiffel Tour, 2,738 yellow roses, and the world to propose to his girlfriend, Lainey Duncan.
“Lainey Olivia Duncan, you are the love of my life. You have been with me since day one,” Best told Duncan as he began his proposal.
Gold medal winning rower Justin Best just proposed to his girlfriend Lainey, live on TODAY! ????????
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 5, 2024
Each yellow rose represents the time they've been together and the days they've have had a Snapchat streak! ???????? pic.twitter.com/mobeT00SHb
“I knew you were special — it was the first date. I said to you, ‘I wanted to go to the Olympics,’ and you, without question, said ‘Yeah, absolutely. Go for it,'” he recalled. “You are stunningly beautiful. ferociously intelligent. Your kindness is bent leaps and bounds — I don’t know anyone that doesn’t love you.”
“This is going to be the easiest question of my life. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and raise a family together. Lainey, Will you marry me?”
Lainey, without hesitation, said yes after 9 years together.
When asked if the specific number of yellow roses he proposed with had a special meaning behind it, Best shared that “each yellow rose represents a day that you and I have been together.”
“Obviously,” Best continued, “we communicated through Snapchat. Our streak is 2,738 right now. So there are 2,738 yellow roses from Snapchat. Our love is truly now immortalized.”
Lainey exclaimed that she is “so, so happy. This is the best day of my life!”
“I got the gold and the girl,” Best added after he proposed, “and she got the diamond!”