Man screams like "pterodactyl" at surprise proposal
PHILADELPHIA – Anthony Tufano is screaming for all the right reasons. He is getting the proposal of a lifetime.
Watch the video above to see how his wild reaction plays out.
Tufano met his now fiancé John Denning in February of 2020. Denning first saw Tufano dressed up as Cupid at a Valentine’s Day party and was certain he’d been struck by love’s arrow. They eventually connected and had their first date at a Philly cheesesteak restaurant in downtown Orlando. After years of dating, Denning knew his proposal had to be special.
“I knew I wanted to [propose] in Philly because that was where our first date was, at a Philly cheesesteak place,” Denning said.
Tufano often wrote romantic love letters to Denning. When it was Denning’s turn to write a love letter, he simply put “XOXO” in the note instead of “love,” which didn’t pan out well with Tufano. The couple look back at this moment with humor and Denning wanted to acknowledge it as part of their story. When Denning realized there was an “XOXO” sign in front of the Bourse Food Hall in Philadelphia, he knew he had to propose there.
“I saw that in Philly I'm like, I'm gonna be petty and I'm gonna have every engagement photo have the XOXO backgrounds,” Dennings said.
The combination of the city and the sign left Tufano speechless as Denning knelt to propose. Tufano’s screams of joy were lovingly referred to by Denning as “pterodactyl” screeches. After Denning posted the video of the proposal online, millions of viewers reached out with love and support to the couple, many of whom were LGBTQIA+ youth.
“As a child, I grew up never thinking I could marry the person I love,” Denning said.
Knowing that their love was a symbol of triumph for so many young people made the engagement even sweeter for the couple.
“You only live once and you know, you should be happy. Just be yourself and own it and who cares what anyone else thinks. Just smile. Every day's a new day,” said Tufano.