Man Pops the Question to Girlfriend on Live TV in Groundhog Day Proposal: ‘This Is Her Favorite Holiday’

While Punxsutawney Phil was predicting six more weeks of winter, a Colorado Springs couple was marking a milestone of their own.

On Monday, Feb. 2, thousands gathered at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., to watch the famous groundhog make his annual forecast after spotting his shadow — though the accuracy of that prediction is often debated.

Amid the crowd and the TV cameras, Cooper Norton chose the moment to propose to his girlfriend of five years, Abigail Tillman — live on television.

In footage captured by WTAJ, the moment began as a standard interview about the day’s festivities and Phil’s forecast.

“It’s a little cold so I’m not super thrilled about six more weeks, but it was a fun experience to come down here for our very first time,” Norton said. Tillman added, “I’m excited, it was really fun. It’s been on my bucket list for years.”

But when the interviewer asked how they planned to spend the extra weeks of winter, Norton revealed he had something else in mind.

“Well, I’ve got a couple of plans,” Norton said, before dropping to one knee. “Will you marry me, Abigail Tillman?”

Tillman, visibly stunned, quickly said yes as her eyes filled with tears.

“This is my plan for the six weeks is to start planning a wedding with my now-fiancée Abby,” Norton said afterward. He explained the proposal was carefully planned, noting that Groundhog Day is Tillman’s favorite holiday. “She told me when we got together, and it has been very peculiar. So this Christmas, I got it as a Christmas gift and kind of been planning this for about a whole year. So this is our first experience here and we wanted to cap it off with a nice little memento.”

After the on-air proposal, the couple reflected on the moment in a conversation with KKTV.

“I watched the video back and jaw literally dropped,” Tillman said. “Thanks to family and friends for keeping the secret ‘cause they did really good.”

“He’s been waiting for me to be out of school to do this, so everything is ties up nicely into a bow,” she added. “Excited to celebrate with friends and family.”

Tillman also shared why she’s always loved Groundhog Day, calling it “just so niche.”

“It’s weird, and I enjoy the weirdness of it,” she said — with Norton adding that soon after last year’s Groundhog Day, he set a goal to make the proposal worthy of the occasion: “Probably since right after Groundhog Day last year, my goal was to make it the most deserving proposal for her.”