Teo Yin Yan, Author at Goody Feed

In an inspiring TikTok video, user @kubaozi, Ms Ravelyn Ong, shares her boyfriend's incredible marriage proposal plan that began in 2017, emphasising the importance of never settling for less. Ms Ong's video, which spans nearly three minutes, reveals that her boyfriend, Mr Nigel Chua, who always referred to himself as the “Man with a Plan”, had been planning the proposal for seven years. The TikTok video has garnered significant attention, with over 544,000 views and more than 69,300 likes. According to the video, the scavenger-hunt-like plans were only made known to Ms Ong in early April 2023 when Mr Chua emailed her instructions on how to “proceed”. Following his guidance, Ms Ong had to solve many sometimes complicated puzzles involving Morse codes, origami puzzles and more to reach the “ending point”, which was Mr Chua’s ultimate proposal to her on 23 April 2023. Hiccups in the Plan Didn’t Deter Man @kubaozi He has been hiding proposal clues for the past 7 years in my birthday presents. 🥲 #singapore #proposal #proposalvideo #proposalgoals #tiktoksg #fyp #tiktok_sg #couplegoals #couplesvideo #couplestiktok #lovestory #manwithaplan ♬ Romantic Love Song - Xuckanon Multiple sweet proposal stories have been posted on the internet before. One went viral in 2021 as the groom uploaded a professionally made video on YouTube, revealing his love story with his wife, which had started in primary school. Nonetheless, the recent viral video by Ms Ong takes the cake for the detail and effort evident in the proposed plans. Living up to his nickname, the "Man with a Plan," Mr Chua meticulously devised a proposal plan that revealed clues to Ms Ong over several years. Despite his careful preparations, there were some unexpected hurdles along the way, causing delays in Ms Ong's discovery of the hints. In 2018, Mr Chua gifted Ms Ong a combination lock box for her 24th birthday, instructing her to open it a year later in 2019. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, she only managed to unlock the box and decipher the coded message four years later, in April 2023. Image: TikTok (@kubaozi) Although this caused a five-year delay in Mr Chua's original plan, he remained undeterred and promptly presented Ms Ong with another set of clues just a week later on 15 April 2023. These clues consisted of a series of mysterious alphabets, which he revealed were connected to additional hints concealed within a puzzle made of origami otters he had folded as a gift for her 23rd birthday in 2017. Remarkably, the origami puzzle had been sitting in Ms Ong's room for six years before its role in Mr Chua's proposal plan was unveiled. As she painstakingly unfolded each origami otter, hidden Morse codes were revealed, adding to the intrigue and excitement of the journey. Detailed Clues In Each Step Leading Up to the Proposal Image: TikTok (@kubaozi) Initially hesitant to unfold the carefully folded origami pieces due to her appreciation for Mr Chua's effort in making them look like her favourite animal, the otter, Ms Ong eventually proceeded with the task. On the other hand, Mr Chua was delighted to finally witness progress in his lengthy proposal plan. He even recorded Ms Ong as she painstakingly unfolded each origami piece. However, unfolding the origami otters was just the beginning of the “journey”. Ms Ong also had to connect the previously gifted alphabets to the Morse codes on the origami so that she could eventually piece together the letters to form Mr Chua’s intended message for her. Mr Chua's plan, it appeared, may have been slightly too intricate, as even with a prompt sent via email, Ms Ong found herself at a loss regarding the intended phrase. Image: TikTok (@kubaozi) Eventually, she contacted Mr Chua for assistance, sparking a series of email and text exchanges. Despite a few missing letters, Ms Ong triumphed in obtaining most of the letters comprising Mr Chua's "hidden message". Plan Was Set in Motion Long Ago In addition to personally creating and organising the clues for his meticulous proposal “scavenger hunt”, Mr Chua enlisted the help of Ms Ong's friends to execute his proposal at the Swan Lake Gazebo in Singapore Botanic Gardens. The video revealed that since 26 March 2023, Mr Chua and her friends had been coordinating the details for the actual proposal day, disguising it as a gathering to celebrate one of Ms Ong's friend's birthdays. The plan was set to take place on Sunday, 23 April 2023, perfectly timed to coincide with the couple's seventh anniversary. Initially, Ms Ong was hesitant to spend the entire day with her female friends, as she had a tradition of having dinner with Mr Chua every Sunday. However, her friends managed to convince her otherwise. This posed additional challenges to Mr Chua's plan, as Ms Ong grew impatient throughout the day. The heat and extensive walking throughout Botanic Gardens added to her exhaustion, leading her to request a car ride home. Fortunately, just as her frustration almost peaked, Ms Ong’s friends could finally guide her to the proposal spot when they confirmed that Mr Chua had reached the Swan Lake Gazebo. Once there, her friends attempted to divert her attention to the swans, but Ms Ong declined, solely focused on getting in a car and heading home. Image: TikTok (@kubaozi) Despite all the hurdles, a stranger who was not part of the plan eventually saved the day when she approached Ms Ong and asked her to take a photo. Unbeknownst to her, this encounter led her to the designated "spot" for Mr Chua's proposal. Initially unaware of Mr Chua's presence behind her, Ms Ong finally discovered him, leading him to pop the question on the spot. Man’s Commitment to Plan Touches Girlfriend and Netizens In the concluding part of the video, Ms Ong discloses that the remaining missing letters of Mr Chua's "hidden message" were concealed within a lavender-infused potpourri pouch. Mr Chua presented her with this pouch to help her relax and sleep better for her 25th birthday in 2019. Essentially, the pouch had been hanging by her bedside, in plain sight, for four years without her realising its significance in Mr Chua's proposal plans. Ms Ong expressed in her video that she was overcome with disbelief upon the realisation that Mr Chua had been planning to propose to her since 2017. Viewers of the video were equally astounded by Mr Chua's unwavering dedication and commitment to a plan that spanned a remarkable seven years. They laud his thoughtfulness and declare that his gestures have set a new "standard" for men. Apart from girls, perhaps everyone should thank Ms Ong for reminding us not to settle for less in any relationship. So guys, apart from the now typical route of proposing in public, where you could risk your proposal getting potentially ruined by public members, maybe take inspiration from Mr Chua's bank of ideas. After all, as TikTok would say, if he wanted to, he could.