It was a proposal fit for the Gilded Age!
Laurie Cumbo, commissioner of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, got proposed to by her partner — former NY State Assembly candidate Bobby Digi Olisa — at one of the most fashionable events of the year.
The pair gave Kim Kardashian’s skin-tight Marilyn Monroe gown a run for its scene-stealing money as they made their way down the infamous Metropolitan Museum of Art steps at Monday evening’s 2022 Met Gala.
Cumbo and Olisa, both 47, were at the bash when the latter got down on one knee and presented his love with an unmistakable robin’s egg-colored Tiffany’s ring box.
Cumbo and Olisa — executive director and founder of Staten Island’s the Canvas institute — share a 5-year-old son and have been together for almost eight years.
“I guess my fiancé just asked me to marry him and this is amazing, unexpected, wonderful. This is the best day ever!” Cumbo gushed to NBC after the surprise, which even hit the pages of fashion bible Vogue.
She also told the outlet that she was previously an intern for Met Gala decades before — when she was 15 years old. “Now I’m coming back as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and it’s an honor to be here tonight,” she added.
Cumbo was in for a big surprise when her partner of eight years proposed to her on Monday evening. AFP via Getty Images Cumbo was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams in March 2022. Adams, 61, also attended the star-studded Gilded Age-themed party, rocking a custom-made suit that pleaded “End Gun Violence.”
She also stopped by to talk to Entertainment Tonight about the proposal at the museum and noted she wasn’t expecting it.
“I didn’t know it was going to happen tonight. We’ve been talking about it,” she said, also stating that she and her man have been through several hurdles as a couple so “this is such an honor and this is such a blessing.”
“I didn’t know it was going to happen tonight. We’ve been talking about it,” she said.AFP via Getty ImagesOlisa later divulged to the Associated Press that he had been wanting to pop the question for quite some time.
“You know, it’s always like trying to wait for the right time,” he said. “So when is the right time considering everything that’s going on worldwide? So I was just like, ‘Today we’re going to make it happen.’ “
Cumbo was definitely impressed by Olisa’s grand romantic gesture: “You wait for this moment your whole life almost and for it to be right here, it was everything that I thought it would be,” she said.
Other A-listers have used the prestigious Met Gala to make a romantic move include former President Donald Trump and FLOTUS Melania, who debuted a “big diamond” ring there in 2004. Meanwhile, rapper 2Chainz went all the way in 2018: The Def Jam recording artist, 44, proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Kesha Ward, at the time.
