Seven Signs He's Going to Propose

You want the proposal to be a surprise. You just don’t want to be completely surprised by it. There’s a difference between romantic mystery and plain old miscommunication. Or maybe you are the kind of person who loves it when people pop out from hiding to throw you a surprise birthday party, but you’d prefer not to be ambushed while you are carrying an antique tea set or wearing a retainer. Spoiler alert: Here are seven signs he’s going to propose. 

1. Shared Calendar

You know when he’s going to propose because he told you when he was going to propose. Or you told him. Or you worked it out together. Not much mystery here, but that’s pretty common. Only about a third of proposals are a surprise, according to a recent study.

2. Ring Buzz

Fingers haven’t been this big a deal since that Dutch boy averted a catastrophic flood. Does your married sister invite you to try on her ring “for no reason”? Did one of your own rings go missing for a day or two and then suddenly reappear? Did you wake up from a couch nap with a piece of string around your fourth digit? When you watch Lord of the Rings, does your significant other casually ask, “But do you think that One Ring would have looked better in Rose Gold?” Honestly, just check out our blog post on how to find out someone's ring size without asking them and work backwards from there. 

3. Fashion Advice 

Did your roommate look a bit dismayed when you mentioned hitting the gym before brunch on the beach? Did someone suddenly have an expiring coupon to a manicure place? Your boyfriend, the dude who can shut his eyes at a party and have no idea what a single person is wearing, has suggested that you wear something fancy for tonight’s date. Sounds like something’s in the works.

Featured: The Enchanted

4. Pointed Questions

Has he been asking a lot of pointed questions about the future, in a way that it seems like he was much more invested in your answers? When you go to other weddings together, is he jotting notes instead of heading to the open bar? Or maybe you catch him staring at the centerpieces with a calculating expression. Like he’s never really thought about flowers much before, but now he might be expected to hold an opinion. It’s possible he’s just trying to learn more about the world he lives in and the woman he loves. But it’s more likely that there’s a ring in his sock drawer right now.

5. Weird Behavior

Your dad, historically a fist-bump guy, pulled both you and your boyfriend into a bear hug – which is odd. All your aunts and uncles are suddenly telling you what they picked for their first dance. Or falling silent when you enter the room – which is a first. Your college roommate who lives abroad has been texting him – which is disconcerting. Get used to it. He’s about to be Facebook friends with the little old lady who watched you after school.

6. Slipshod Secrecy

Look, you don’t really want to be in a relationship with someone who’s an expert at hiding things from you. Good thing, too, because he still had an internet search for “unique pear shaped engagement rings” up when he handed you his phone to order the pizza. And when he called to check in on weekend plans and you asked him where he was, he answered, “Oh, I’m shopping for …. Uh… birdseed.” When you asked him why he needed birdseed when he didn’t own a bird, he got kind of shifty and said, “Oh, you know. Best to be prepared.”

7. Significant Dates and Suspicious Circumstances

Do you have an anniversary coming up and he’s been a bit more frugal recently? Oh, and he just did the holidays with your family. Yeah....

Featured: The Bliss

At Modern Gents, we know a thing or two about proposals, so we are happy to let you in on a few of the secrets when it comes to the groundwork of a surprise engagement. We can’t give everything away, of course. Not after how hard he is working to make the whole proposal such a delightful revelation. And fellas, if it feels like we have been spying on your carefully laid plans, she might just be on to you.