Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Dublin Live
Dublin Live
National
Clare McCarthy & Amy Donohoe

The most awkward moment from The Rose of Tralee ever - and where are the couple nine years later

The Rose of Tralee graced our screen for the first time since 2019 last night and we're hoping for top quality entertainment this year. From fabulous talents to awkward moments, we never know what to expect.

Here, we take a look back on the most talked moment from Rose of Tralee history - the famous proposal. Back in 2013, the nation was left glued to their screens when Kyle Catlett got down on one knee and proposed to New Orleans Rose Molly Molloy Gamble.

Daithi O Se helped organise the proposal. He invited Molly’s boyfriend out on stage during her interview, pretending that it was part of a stunt.

Read more: Rose of Tralee 2022: All you need to know about Dublin Rose Claire Connolly

Instead, Kyle reached into his suit pocket for a ring and got down on one knee, saying: “Molly Molloy… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?” The 23-year-old university graduate was visibly shaking as she said: “Oh my, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please don’t, no, no, Kyle please stop.”

Kyle Catlett proposed to New Orleans rose Molly Molloy Gamble live on air (RTE)

Molly said “no” 11 times before finally saying “yes” - much to the relief of those watching at home. Kyle took it very well as he smiled and handed his emotional fiancée the ring afterwards, saying: “We’ve got tissues.”

Daithi had to double check that Molly had accepted the proposal before she left the stage, asking the couple: “Did you say yes?” as Molly revealed that she did say “yes” in the end. Despite the rocky proposal, the pair got married nine months later in May 2014, celebrating their wedding in a romantic ceremony at Sacred Heart Church in Fairhope, Alabama in front of almost 300 guests.

The happy couple tied the knot eight months later (Irish Mirror)

The wedding was captured for a 2014 RTE documentary named 'The Proposal’, which followed Kyle and Molly's journey after the infamous moment. Molly has since said that her initial negative response to Kyle’s proposal was just nerves and that they now look back fondly on the clip as a “great memory”.

Nine years later the couple, now 32, are happily married and have grown their family, welcoming a baby girl, Catherine Ann Catlett, into the world in 2020. Daithi O Se has said he remembers the live marriage proposal as one of the most shocking moments he ever witnessed while hosting the show.

Molly and Kyle welcomed a baby girl in 2020 (Facebook/Rose of Tralee International Festival)

Daithi said in a 2018 interview : “I’ve had no real embarrassing moments but the night of the proposal and the man went out and proposed live on stage and she was saying ‘no, no, no.' And I was like [mortified]. And then she said yes. I thought, Oh, thanks be to Jesus!

“There was a borderline embarrassing moment for the whole organisation. They got married and I was invited to the wedding but I couldn’t go as I was working. They are still married.

“People said, ‘that was a great gimmick’ and I said it wasn’t a gimmick at all. It was genuine.”

READ NEXT:

Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.