On Monday, September 17, the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards aired. About halfway through the show, a surprise happened that made everyone forget for a second why they were there.
Glenn Weiss chose to propose to his longtime girlfriend, Jan Friedlander Svendsen, right on stage after winning the award for outstanding directing for a variety special. Svendsen was sitting in the audience.
While accepting the award, he said, “You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife.”
And everyone in the audience lost it
It wasn’t a long time planning at all,” Weiss said to Access on Wednesday. “I did speak to my dad three days before, actually. It was a rough couple of weeks. My mom passed two weeks ago and it was a lot of emotion and things, but a lot of clarity about what’s important in life too.”
He revealed that he didn’t have a ‘plan B” proposal if he didn’t win. He said he probably would have “waited until next year” or perhaps done it later that night.
But it wasn’t all happiness and roses. According to Page Six, Weiss’ colleagues 17- and 21-year-old daughters were “completely shocked and blindsided” by the engagement. On social media, some people criticized Weiss for putting Svendsen on the spot. Regardless, the general consensus seems to be that you can see the love between them, and everyone who watched the Emmys witnessed a truly magical moment that night.
Congratulations Glenn and Jan!