Emmy winner Glen Weiss’ surprise marriage proposal steals show

Game of Thrones won big at the Emmy Awards, held last night in Los Angeles, taking the gongs for Outstanding Drama Series and Best Supporting Actor (for Peter Dinklage), but it was director Glen Weiss who wowed the audience with the evening’s most surprising acceptance speech.

Picking up the award for best director of a variety special for The Oscars, Weiss used his speech to propose to his longtime partner, Jan Svendsen, on live television.

Weiss began his tear-jerking acceptance speech by saying how much he missed his mother, who had passed away two weeks before the ceremony.

“Part of my heart is broken and I don’t think it will ever be repaired but she’s in me and she always will be,” Weiss said.

Then in a move that shocked both his girlfriend and the Emmy Awards audience, resulting in uproarious applause, Weiss said, “mom always believed in finding the sunshine, and she adored my girlfriend Jan”.

“Jan you are the sunshine in my life and mom was right: don’t ever let go of your sunshine. You wonder why you I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? It’s because I want to call you my wife.”

Amid the cheers from the audience Svendsen took to the stage where Weiss went down on one knee and asked her to marry him – to which she said yes. Adding to the momentousness of the occasion, the ring Weiss proposed with belonged to his mother.

“This is the ring that my dad put on my mom’s finger 67 years ago. And to my sisters and brothers, I didn’t swipe it. Dad knows I have it, OK?” he said.

After going down on his knee he said, “Jan, I want to put this ring that my mom wore on your finger in front of all these people and in front of my mom and your parents watching from above. Will you marry me?”

The pair embraced and left the stage together, leaving not one dry eye in the packed theatre.