Most couples are thrilled to share the story of a single perfect proposal. Sarah Wintrip needed a little more convincing. Her partner, Luke Wintrip, asked her to marry him 43 times over seven years before she finally agreed, turning a running joke between them into a viral lesson in patience, boundaries, and what commitment can look like in real life.
Their saga, which started as a private back-and-forth and ended with a beach wedding and millions of views online, has struck a nerve with people who see both romance and red flags in the same storyline. It is a love story, yes, but also a case study in how two adults negotiated timing, pressure, and the right to say “not yet” without walking away.
The man who would not stop asking
From the outside, Luke’s persistence sounds almost unreal. Over the course of seven years, he staged proposal after proposal, reaching a total of 43 attempts before Sarah said yes. Clips shared online show everything from low-key living room moments to more elaborate setups, each time with Luke putting the question on the table and Sarah calmly declining. In one widely shared description, a post noted that a woman finally accepted her boyfriend’s marriage proposal after he had asked 43 times over seven years, identifying the determined partner as Luke Wintrip.
Luke’s approach was not just about repetition, it was about trying to read the room and adjust. Social clips and write-ups describe “countless romantic gestures” that ranged from playful surprises to more orchestrated scenes, all part of a long campaign to win Sarah’s agreement. One Instagram reel framed it as a modern fairy tale, noting that after 7 years and 43 proposals, Luke Wintrip finally heard the answer he had been waiting for from Sarah. A televised panel even broke down the math, pointing out that he proposed 43 times in seven years, which works out to about SIX proposals a year, and gave him “an A for effort.”
Why Sarah kept saying no
To understand why this story resonates, it helps to look at Sarah’s side. She was not a teenager being swept along by a grand gesture; she was a grown woman with a life already in motion. Reports identify Sarah Wintrip as 38 and Luke as 36, and describe her as someone who had already built a family before this relationship. One account notes that she had three daughters from a previous partnership, which meant any decision to remarry would reshape more than just her own future. That context helps explain why she repeatedly turned him down, even when the proposals were sweet, public, or carefully planned.
Sarah has been quoted as saying she did not want to rush into something she might later regret, a sentiment echoed in a motivational-style post that framed her refusals as a way to protect herself and her children. That same post, which highlighted how a woman finally accepted her boyfriend’s marriage proposal after he had asked 43 times, stressed that she had been wary of committing to something she might later retract, a detail tied directly to Luke Wintrip. Another outlet summarized her stance with a simple pivot word, noting that, however romantic the gestures looked from the outside, However many times he asked, Sarah felt she had to be absolutely sure before changing her answer.
The 43rd proposal, the wedding, and the internet verdict
When Sarah finally did say yes, it was not because Luke had worn her down in a single dramatic scene, it was because the slow work of building trust had caught up with the spectacle. Coverage of the turning point describes her realizing that someone who could stay kind and consistent through 42 rejections was not just chasing a viral moment but was in it for the long haul. One detailed feature notes that on his 43rd attempt, she accepted, telling friends that she saw how deeply he loved her and her children, a moment that cemented Bride as a label she was finally ready to claim. Another report framed the story around the ages of the couple, emphasizing that at 38 and 36, Sarah Wintrip and Luke Wintrip were making a conscious, adult choice rather than rushing into a fairy tale.
Once she accepted, the story did not stop at engagement. The couple went on to marry in a destination ceremony, with one Instagram caption noting that a woman who had finally accepted her boyfriend’s proposal after 43 attempts celebrated with a destination wedding in Jamaica. Another report highlighted that the pair tied the knot on May 17, describing how their unusual love story, including horseback rides on a Jamaican beach, surprised people who had followed every rejection and still doubted they would make it to the altar, a detail captured in an Offbe feature edited by Edited Ritu Singh. Another outlet even joked that Luke should get a Guinness World Record for his persistence, while a long-form profile summed up the saga with a simple phrase that has now become shorthand for the entire journey: a Woman Finally Says “Yes” to her Boyfriend Who Proposed 43 Times in 7 Years, a line that now follows the couple wherever their story is told.
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