Couple’s ‘Dream’ Proposal in Greece Takes an Unexpected Turn Thanks to Oblivious Tourists

Every year, Natali Melani and Kevin Arrieta escape to the sun-drenched island of Santorini, Greece, where they host a picture-perfect yoga retreat through their company, Yoga Plus Miami. But during last year’s getaway, the itinerary took an unexpected — and hilarious — detour.

While planning to propose, Arrieta chose what he believed was the ideal cobblestone street to pop the question. He carefully staged the moment with a tripod and waited for the right time. Just as he dropped to one knee, two completely unaware tourists wandered straight into the frame, blocking the view entirely.

Still, the camera kept rolling — and instead of a flawless engagement video, the couple ended up with a comical digital keepsake that quickly went viral.

“I set up a tripod. I wanted to pop the question and then it all happened organically,” Arrieta told PEOPLE exclusively. “Then I look over, and I just see [tourists] in front of it, and then we just couldn’t believe it.”

The unsuspecting pair paused right in front of the camera, seemingly to catch their breath. The woman looked around, clearly trying to get her bearings, while the man casually snacked on a half-melted candy bar — entirely oblivious to the moment they were interrupting.

“They walked away, [we] picked up our phone and we watched the video. We just died. Like we froze,” Melani said. “We stayed there, probably rewatching it a couple of times, just dying.”

Before they could react or share the moment with the couple, the tourists had vanished down the winding Santorini streets — leaving behind a memory that would make both Melani and Arrieta laugh for years.

Rather than getting upset, the pair embraced the chaos with humor. A year later, they finally decided to share the clip on social media.

“A lot of people think we’re mad about it. We’re not mad at all. I think it’s just like the funniest thing,” Arrieta said. “And that’s why we’ve been holding on to it. We’ve been showing our friends. And like they think it’s funny. I’m like, okay, let’s post it.”

What finally motivated him to go public? A trending audio clip from the low-cost British airline Jet2 that inspired people to share their funniest travel fails. “And then the whole ‘Jet 2’ audio came out. And we’re like perfect…we’re happy the whole world is just laughing about it.”

One unexpected twist? Viewers became obsessed with figuring out what kind of candy bar the man was eating.

“In the beginning, we thought it was Snickers. But then, through the comments, we learned about this new bar called the Corny bar,” Arrieta said. “So there’s like this whole battle between, is it Snickers, or is it Corny?”

Some commenters even suggested the couple try to track down the photobombers and invite them to the wedding — an idea that Melani and Arrieta find amusing, though they haven’t begun planning their big day just yet.

“They will make us laugh forever, like we’re not upset,” Melani added. “We don’t think it ruined our proposal. We think they’re adorable.”

To commemorate their engagement properly, Melani and Arrieta booked a professional photoshoot with SantoriniDress before returning to Florida.

Now with a humorous story and a stunning set of engagement photos, Arrieta has some wisdom to offer fellow romantics: “I would say, for sure, get a photographer, and maybe the photographer has an assistant to block out the crowd or something? I don’t know, but maybe don’t pick a tourist attraction.”

Melani acknowledges that proposals can come with high expectations, which sometimes puts pressure on the moment — but their experience served as a reminder to stay grounded.

“Take things with a grain of salt and a little bit of humor,” she said. “It is what it is, we’re in public. We share this world with other people.”