October 21 is a national holiday for the E! network: It's Kim Kardashian's birthday. As the undisputed queen of reality television, Kardashian has shared her most intimate moments with viewers, be they happy or sad. Among those many moments over the past 15 seasons, Kardashian documented her epic engagement to now-husband Kanye West. And this year marks the fifth anniversary of West's over-the-top, rom-com-worthy proposal on Kardashian's 33rd birthday in 2013.
When you think of iconic celebrity relationships, how often can you also envision the most personal moments that couple has ever shared? I can think of only West and Kardashian. We have seen the couple through their early friendship, their dating life, their engagement, their wedding, and the pregnancy and births of all three of their children.
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The Yeezus singer went into full Kanye West mode by planning the most lavish proposal he could. Knowing what we know about him, he probably wanted to put all past, current, and future proposals to shame, ensuring they could never quite match his $3 million proposal to Kardashian. The rapper rented out San Francisco's AT&T Park, bringing in a blindfolded Kardashian into a completely dark baseball field where a 50-piece orchestra serenaded her with her favorite Lana Del Rey song. All this while the couple's closes friends and family hid in the dugout in complete silence until just the right moment when they could join in the festivities.
Then, West got down on one knee as a personalized message on the scoreboard flashed "PLEEEASE MARRY MEEE!!!" He then presented the mother of his then-newborn daughter with a 15-carat Lorraine Schwartz diamond engagement ring — the one he chose out of the three he commissioned.
Perhaps I'm just guilty of loving sappy romances, or perhaps it's because the two have been through so much together, but watching this Keeping Up With The Kardashians footage has me feeling some type of way, especially with the recent divorce rumors swirling.
West's proposal could not be more different than Kris Humphries' intimate one to Kardashian just two years prior. The former-NBA player proposed to Kardashian in her Los Angeles home surrounded by rose petals and candles. Court documents from the couple's divorce proceedings would show the proposal scene was reshot for the show because Kardashian didn't like her reaction the first time and every aspect of the proposal was reportedly controlled by producers, Jenner, and Kardashian herself.
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With so much meticulous planning, there were certainly no do-overs and re-shots of West's proposal. A week after he popped the big question, the father-of-three stopped by for a candid radio interview with Power 106 in Los Angeles, dropping more intel on his super-secret proposal. In addition to commissioning three rings, making design changes up until the night before, he also planned every aspect of the event with his team, down to the lights in the baseball stadium. “They didn’t have the lights exactly like I wanted it to be. I’m arguing with the guy who put it together for me. He’s talking about, ‘Man it need to be more romantic," West said. "I said, ‘It’s a baseball field. What you talking about? If I wanted to be romantic, I would have gone to a small restaurant or something.”
And that's the Kanye West we know, and the one Kardashian loves. The West who pulled off the biggest proposal in reality TV, and certainly the West that once gave us a window into the private life of a mega-celebrity couple.