B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Federal Election
  • Pinterest
  • AFL
  • WPP
  • AI
  • NRL
  • Anthony Albanese
  • EssenceMediaCom
  • Thinkerbell
  • News Corp
  • Channel 10
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • State of Origin
  • Cairns Hatchlings
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: “Hold Your Horses!” Failed Gay Marriage Proposal Upstages Live Racing Coverage
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Media > “Hold Your Horses!” Failed Gay Marriage Proposal Upstages Live Racing Coverage
Media

“Hold Your Horses!” Failed Gay Marriage Proposal Upstages Live Racing Coverage

Mary Madigan
Published on: 30th November 2021 at 11:53 AM
Mary Madigan
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

Irish Television presenters Gary O’Brien and Lisa O’Neill were trying to cover the horse racing, only to be upstaged by a failed marriage proposal!

Both O’Brien and O’Neill were covering the racing at Fairyhouse, discussing the horses and all sorts of important racing things, when a man appeared behind them and got down on one knee – yes he was proposing.

Live on television the man proposed assumedly to his boyfriend – the stuff of romantic comedies!

Except in an unexpected twist, his boyfriend appeared to reject his proposal and storm off –  honestly, the break-up seemed more dramatic than James Packer and Mariah Carey’s broken engagement.

The man that stormed off quickly disappeared from the cameraman’s view and we were left with the heartbroken one, who had to awkwardly stand up again.

It was like an episode of Love Island, except the island was replaced with a race track and the contestants were in their Sunday best.

🎩 Young love can be so fickle

These lads clearly had a great at @Fairyhouse despite a bit of heartbreak for this chap in the background 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/d01riLQP6v

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) November 27, 2021

The reporters either unware or just very very dedicated to their jobs continued reporting as normal as if someone just hadn’t had their heartbroken! Forget about the races, true love is on the line!

While punters and viewers watched the heartbroken man grapple with the fact the love of his life had just stormed off. Throw in a terminal illness and it’s the plot of a Nicholas Sparks book.

As the infamous, Dale Earnhardt said: “You win some, you lose some, you wreck some.”

Finally, O’Brien acknowledged the event behind him and said: “I think these two guys behind us are getting married!”

Either O’Brien wasn’t paying attention or he felt it was already okay to joke about such recent heartbreak.

However, in fabulous news, the whole thing turned out to be a joke.

The man that ran away returned to his heartbroken lover and with a gang of friends and they all jumped around together and celebrated the success of their skit. Male bonding I guess?

Seriously – they just started jumping.

Either way, I’m glad I didn’t just watch a rejected proposal on national television,  that would be far too much emotion for a Tuesday!

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Lisa O’Neill
Share
By Mary Madigan
Follow:
Mary Madigan began her career working for ex-Vogue editor and chief Kirstie Clements and has since done everything from PR to tutoring at The University Of Notre Dame. Mary Madigan was a journalist at B&T until 2022.

Latest News

TV Ratings (12/6/2025): 1.4 Million People Viewed The Western Bulldogs Kicking Its Way Into The Top Eight
13/06/2025
WARC Downgrades Global Ad Spend Forecast Amid “Trade Tensions” & Uncertain Tech Market
13/06/2025
Marketers Call For Measurement ‘Parity’ In Video, But One Buyer Warns ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’
13/06/2025
Meta Cracks Down On Nudify Apps & Sues Hong Kong Developer Behind CrushAI
13/06/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?