A man tragically drowned after conducting an elaborate underwater proposal for his girlfriend.
Steven Weber and his girlfriend, Kenesha Antoine, were staying in a submerged cabin at the Manta Resort, just off Pemba Island in Tanzania’s Zanzibar Archipelago when Steven put his life on the line to propose to his other half.
Footage showed Steven swimming to the window with a piece of paper with the message: “I can’t hold my breath long enough to tell you everything I love about you. But… everything I love about you, I love more every day!”
He then switched the piece of paper around to reveal another message, which read: “Will you please be my wife?”, before showing Kenesha a ring box.
In the video, the elated girlfriend could be heard laughing, clearly excited to respond to her lover but when she went to meet him, she was greeted with the worst news – her husband had passed away trying to swim to the surface of the water.
At the time, the Manta Resort told the BBC that Steven had “tragically drowned while free diving alone outside the underwater room” before releasing another public statement.
“It is with the deepest regret that we inform that a fatal accident occurred at The Manta Resort on Thursday 19 September, 2019,” the resort’s statement read.
Kenesha also took to social media to post a heartfelt tribute to her loved one in a post that has been liked over 41,000 times.
“There are no words adequate enough to honor the beautiful soul that is Steven Weber, Jr,” she started. “You were a bright light to everyone you encountered. You never met a stranger, and you brought so much joy to so many people. You were kind, compassionate, you regularly made me cry with laughter, and you showered me with a love like none I’d ever experienced.”
She continued: “You never emerged from those depths, so you never got to hear my answer, ‘Yes! Yes! A million times, yes, I will marry you!!'”
The heartbroken girlfriend went on to state that while she was so excited to start this new chapter with someone who was supposed to be her husband, “the best day of [their] lives turned into the worst.”
Describing it as “the cruelest twist of fate imaginable,” she said: “I will try to take solace in the fact that we enjoyed the most amazing bucket list experiences these past few days, and that we both were so happy and absolutely giddy with excitement in our final moments together.
“…I will carry the blessing of the love we shared with me forever. I will find you and marry you in the next lifetime, and the next, and the next, and the next… I love you so much, and I always will.”
Kenesha asked social media users for prayers for Steven’s friends and family as they grieved the loss of their loved one.
“Please love each other while you can, as hard as you can,” she emphasized, before joking about how her boyfriend is dealing with the situation now.
“I know that wherever in the universe Steven’s spirit now resides, that is exactly what he’s doing: giving love and spreading joy and laughter,” she said. “And knowing him, always quick with an off-color joke, he’s probably entertaining someone with a story about how he royally screwed up that proposal and died while being extra.
“Rest well, my sweet baby! Always know that you are forever loved!” the post concluded.
Kenesha also attached a clip of the proposal, which she filmed from inside the submerged cabin, as well as photos and videos of Steve, which tugged at the heartstrings of Facebook users.
“My heart grieves this unbelievable news,” one user wrote. “Thank you for your eloquent, brave words. Steven and I weren’t close, but we didn’t have to be for me to notice the exceptional light that guided his spirit. To simply be in the same room with him was to feel a loving presence. The generosity of his heart, the ingenuity of his mind. He was a treasure. I rejoice in the beautiful memories you were able to create with him. I am deeply sorry for your loss.”
“I love you. My heart hurts. Sending prayers and love to you,” another added.
A third also described the entire ordeal as “devastating,” writing: “This is so devastating, and I can’t begin to imagine your pain. I was following your trip with envy, and you both looked so blissful. No one can explain why things like this happen, but prayerfully you find solace in the memories of how whole he made you; something that many here on earth struggle to find, if ever. Sending prayers that you find peace again soon.”
Steven’s memory continues to live on five years after the tragic accident and his love for Kenesha is evident through the series of photos she shared.
Our thoughts are with his girlfriend and the rest of his family.