The Missouri couple who lost an engagement ring during a flubbed proposal, only to be surprised with a much large diamond – and a chance for a very public do-over – on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week had found the original ring days earlier, but kept it a secret.
Seth Dixon, the bungling groom who dropped the $3,000 diamond engagement ring while proposing to his bride, Ruth Salas, on a bridge in a Kansas City park on September 9, shared the news on his Facebook page on Wednesday, stressing that staffers at the late-night ABC show knew that the old ring had been recovered on Saturday, but decided to let them keep the replacement anyway.
Dixon and Salas appeared on the show Tuesday night and were given a chance to recreate the proposal on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! set, complete with a backdrop resembling Loose Park and a brand-new engagement ring from Kay Jewelers.
Do-over: Seth Dixon proposed to his fiancee Ruth Salas on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the host surprised the couple with a new engagement ring to replace the one the groom had lost
Something old: Turns out, someone had found the lost ring days before the couple’s appearance on the show (pictured after recovery), but they kept it a secret from the public, even though they did tell ABC staff about the find
Something new: Dixon wrote on Facebook staff at Jimmy Kimmel Live! told him and Salas they could keep the new ring, which costs $7,299 (identical ring is pictured)
According to the jewelry store’s website, the show has gifted the couple a Neil Lane Bridal ring with a 1 3/8 carat oval-cut diamond mounted onto a 14K white gold band, which comes with a price tag of $7,299.
‘We have been completely honest with them during this entire process,’ Dixon wrote on Facebook a day after getting down on one knee before his fiancee on national TV. ‘Even with them knowing everything, they still decided to bless us with a new ring.
‘After the show, we again mentioned the ring situation. They again said they wanted us to keep the new ring! All of the staff at Jimmy Kimmel Live have been AMAZING and we are so thankful for them! They have been nothing but a blessing to us!’
On September 9, Seth Dixon was preparing to pop the big question to the love of his life on a bridge in Loose Park, when the $3,000 diamond engagement ring slipped out of his hand and landed in the water, as Kansas City Star first reported. Despite initial efforts by friends and family, who dove in to try and find it, the ring had disappeared.
The moment was captured on video and almost immediately went viral, catching the attention of Kimmel who decided to set up a surprise for Dixon and Salas live on air.
Dixon’s first proposal in Loose Park in Kansas City, ended in calamity after he dropped the engagement ring in the lake. A viral video showed him desperately grabbing at the $3,000 diamond engagement ring before it dropped into the lake
Kimmel heard about their story and arranged for a replacement ring (pictured) for the pair
Uber driver Dixon and his fiancee Salas, a substitute teacher in Liberty, were told they were being flown out to Los Angles for an interview with 20/20.
Then they were led to believe they were just being invited to sit in the audience for Kimmel to watch his show.
So they were stunned when the talk show host called them up to the stage Tuesday night and revealed the whole thing had been a cleaver ruse to get them on his show.
But that wasn’t the end of the surprises for the couple.
The couple had no idea they’d been invited on Jimmy Kimmel Live for the second proposal
That was until the host invited them to join him from the audience on stage
‘I want to give you a do over, an ‘I do-over,’ Kimmel told the stunned couple on his show, with jewelry designer Neil Lane holding a box with the new ring (center)
Out walked jewelry designer Neil Lane – who provides the rings for The Bachelor – who had a box containing the oval-cut diamond ring surrounded by 100 smaller diamonds.
‘I want to give you a do over, an ‘I do-over,’ Kimmel said.
‘Is that as nice as the ring you lost?’ he asked.
There was an awkward pause before Salas replied, with a glance towards Dixon:’I mean…I’m pretty sure it’s a little bit more.’
At that point, Kimmel pulled back a curtain revealing a recreation of their proposal spot – a little wooden bridge with a parkland backdrop.
The stunned pair were provided with an oval cut diamond ring surrounded by 100 smaller diamonds, before a curtain was pulled back, revealing a knock up of their original proposal spot
Getting down on one knee,Dixon asked: ‘Will you marry me?’ and as Salas answered ‘Yes’ cascades of confetti fired out across the studio
‘Wow. Congratulations,’ Kimmel said as the couple shared a kiss on bridge
Funny bit: Guillermo Rodriguez came armed with a butterfly net, just in case Dixon dropped the ring again
Say, ‘Cheese’!: Dixon and Salas posed up with their benefactors Kimmel (far left) and jeweler Neil Lane (right) after the on-air proposal
And this time, Kimmel has his sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez on hand armed with massive butterfly net, just in case.
‘We’ve been together for four years,’ Dixon told his fiance. ‘You’re the love of my life. We’ve had ups and downs, and we’ve gotten through it all. We know this day’s been coming for a long time. And I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’
Getting down on one knee, he asked: ‘Will you marry me?’
‘Yes,’ Salas replied to the cheers of the audience, before the couple shared a kiss.
‘Wow. Congratulations,’ Kimmel said, before joking to the audience. ‘And they’re inviting all of you to the wedding.’
The couple are due to get married next month, on October 21.
What started as heartwarming footage of the original proposal quickly had turned into a horror after he dropped the ring
Friends (pictured) ‘grabbed their goggles and headed to Loose Park in search of this small treasure’ but were unable to find it
Dixon said he was distraught when he first dropped the $3,000 ring that he is still making payments on.
He told the Kansas City Star that the whole thing is ‘absolutely real’.
‘I wish it wasn’t’, Dixon added. Salas said that the pair both ‘freaked out’.
‘It ping-ponged from one plank to another. You could hear a little plop,’ she said.
Salas said despite what happened, she’s just ‘happy and excited that we’re finally engaged’.
‘Just sad I don’t have a ring to show for it,’ she admitted at the time.
On Wednesday, Dixon offered thanks to his friend Maddie Villareal for getting the old ring to them just hours before the broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
He also expressed his gratitude to Michael Long, a 29-year-old truck driver from Springfield – and a stranger to the couple – who was the one who actually located the original ring on Saturday.
‘The point is I wanted to go up there and help a couple out,’ Long told the paer on Wednesday.
It is unclear if Dixon and Salas are planning to keep two rings. They are scheduled to walk down the aisle on October 21.
Dixon, an Uber driver who has been dating Ruth for four years said he was distraught when he first dropped the $3,000 ring that he is still making payments on but now they have an unforgettable proposal story