# Boyfriend Drowns After Proposing To Girlfriend Underwater



## GinnyP (Sep 22, 2019)

Lordy!


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## Dposh167 (Sep 22, 2019)

sooo what's the story behind it? Is there a video or link or something


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## LdyKamz (Sep 22, 2019)

I've read several articles and none of them say what happened exactly. They were staying in an underwater room, he did the proposal outside the window of the room and the girlfriend's facebook post says he never emerged afterward. But what happened? Did he run out of oxygen on the way back up or something else? I'm just confused because he managed to finish the proposal and successfully popped the question so what happened after that?


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## Everything Zen (Sep 22, 2019)

She looks familiar...


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## Kiowa (Sep 22, 2019)

Who shot the video if the girlfriend was above the water waiting for him to return?


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## SoniT (Sep 22, 2019)

Kiowa said:


> Who shot the video if the girlfriend was above the water waiting for him to return?


I thought the girlfriend was shooting the video from inside the room? I dont know. The story is a little confusing. It's really sad that he felt he had to go under water to propose. It would have been a beautiful proposal from inside the cabin or on the deck overlooking the water.


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## msbettyboop (Sep 22, 2019)

LdyKamz said:


> I've read several articles and none of them say what happened exactly. They were staying in an underwater room, he did the proposal outside the window of the room and the girlfriend's facebook post says he never emerged afterward. But what happened? Did he run out of oxygen on the way back up or something else? I'm just confused because he managed to finish the proposal and successfully popped the question so what happened after that?



I don't understand it too. A piece of the story seems to be missing. He proposed and she filmed it and he swam back up to get an answer and never made it but what happened? Did he faint? Did he run out of oxygen? He had a seizure? He was swept away by strong tides?


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## Theresamonet (Sep 22, 2019)

LdyKamz said:


> I've read several articles and none of them say what happened exactly. They were staying in an underwater room, he did the proposal outside the window of the room and the girlfriend's facebook post says he never emerged afterward. But what happened? Did he run out of oxygen on the way back up or something else? I'm just confused because he managed to finish the proposal and successfully popped the question so what happened after that?





msbettyboop said:


> I don't understand it too. A piece of the story seems to be missing. He proposed and she filmed it and he swam back up to get an answer and never made it but what happened? Did he faint? Did he run out of oxygen? He had a seizure? He was swept away by strong tides?




He was free diving. He simply ran out of air and drowned.


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## brg240 (Sep 22, 2019)

this is sad. I know she and his loved ones are heart broken.


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## IslandMummy (Sep 22, 2019)

Theresamonet said:


> He was free diving. He simply ran out of air and drowned.


Free diving? This needs to be in the shenanigans thread


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## Theresamonet (Sep 23, 2019)

IslandMummy said:


> Free diving? This needs to be in the shenanigans thread



Lol. I had the same thought. Yeah, it’s sad. But completely stupid, extra, and unnecessary.


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## GinnyP (Sep 23, 2019)

Dposh167 said:


> sooo what's the story behind it? Is there a video or link or something


Couldn't post the link.   
Crap!  I got distracted yesterday.


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## Reinventing21 (Sep 23, 2019)

Poor fiance! How traumatizing! All that joy turning to straight horror...

Maybe they met diving/swimming or something so he thought it would be extra special to propose like that.


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## Southernbella. (Sep 23, 2019)

He was outside the window of their underwater room.


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## Southernbella. (Sep 23, 2019)

This is really sad. I think she recorded the whole thing.


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## Shula (Sep 23, 2019)

Heartbreakingly tragic to witness him die like that during what should've been a special moment.


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## SoniT (Sep 23, 2019)

I watched the video on her FB page. She video taped a tour of their cabin. She had to walk down a ladder to get to the room which was under water. I think he swam to the outside of the room to do the proposal and she was videotaping from inside the room. I guess he didn't make it back up above the water. That is so sad. She had to make that long trip back home without him.


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## Southernbella. (Sep 23, 2019)

And the paper says "I can't hold my breath long enough to say how much I love you."

You already know the internet got jokes about that but I feel so bad for the girlfriend.


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## Reinventing21 (Sep 23, 2019)

Just how far down was he?!!


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## TrulyBlessed (Sep 24, 2019)

*Family Questions Man's Alleged Drowning During Underwater Proposal: 'All We Keep Talking About'*
Rachel DeSantis
September 24, 2019 02:11 PM




Steven Weber

Facebook

The sister of the Louisiana man who died while proposing to his girlfriend underwater is still grappling with her brother’s cause of death, as she says he was a strong swimmer with experience snorkeling.

Mandy Hoffman told the Associated Press that the death of Steven Weber Jr., who popped the question on vacation by swimming down more than 30 feet to the window of his underwater hotel room on Thursday, has left their family with many unanswered questions as they wait to hear more from authorities in Tanzania.

Hoffman said authorities in the country informed her via email that an autopsy had been conducted, but did not immediately identify a cause of death.

She added that her family is questioning the circumstances surrounding Weber’s death at age 40, as he was a “strong” swimmer who had been snorkeling multiple times, the AP reported.

“This is all we keep talking about,” she told the outlet. “Something other happened besides him running out of breath.”

A State Department official confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen in Tanzania to PEOPLE, but declined further comment.

Spokespersons for the Manta Resort, where Weber was staying, and the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Weber was vacationing with his girlfriend, Kenesha Antoine, when he proposed with a handwritten note and a ring box outside the window of the couple’s underwater hotel room.

Hoffman told the AP that after Antoine excitedly accepted Weber’s proposal, she headed to the deck level of the room to meet him, but he never surfaced.

Though she tried to get help, Antoine was unable to contact resort personnel by phone or by radio, and eventually had to flag down a passing boater to help find Weber, Hoffman told the AP.





Steven Weber

Facebook

“[The boaters] brought him up to the surface, and they performed CPR,” Hoffman told local CBS affiliate KSLA. “He had a slight pulse whenever they brought him, but they tried to do CPR and they just couldn’t bring him back.”

*RELATED: ‘Loss’ of Man Who Died During Underwater Proposal to Girlfriend Is ‘Unbearable’*

Weber and Antoine had been dating for two years after meeting through a mutual friend, and were in Africa as part of a birthday trip for Antoine, Hoffman told KSLA and the AP.

“He’s a romantic. And I know in his mind, this was the best way to do this so that Kenesha could have this memory forever,” she told KSLA. “And I hate that this is the memory that she’s going to have … She’s part of our family now and I don’t ever want her to feel alone.”

Antoine mourned her loss in an emotional Facebook post shortly after the tragedy, in which she shared video of Weber’s proposal and her giddy acceptance.

In the clip, Weber swims up to their room’s window and unfurls a handwritten declaration of love (kept dry in a plastic bag) before opening a ring box.

“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!” the note read. “Will you please be my WIFE? Marry Me???”

In Antoine’s post, she wrote that though Weber never got to hear her answer, she accepted wholeheartedly.

*RELATED: Louisiana Man Drowns After Proposing to Girlfriend Underwater: ‘You Never Got to Hear My Answer’*

“We never got to embrace and celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives together, as the best day of our lives turned into the worst, in the cruelest twist of fate imaginable,” she wrote. ”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.”

Neither Hoffman nor Antoine immediately returned PEOPLE’s request for comment.





Steven Weber

Facebook

The CEO of the Manta Resort confirmed Weber’s death in a statement, and said he was free diving alone when he drowned.

“Our sincerest condolences, thoughts and prayers are with his girlfriend, families and friends impacted by this tragic accident,” Matthew Saus said in a statement to PEOPLE. “A male guest tragically drowned while free diving alone outside the underwater room. The weather and water conditions were calm. The underwater room lies approx. 300 meters offshore. The depth of the water around the underwater room is 10 meters.”

Meanwhile, Hoffman, along with the Zachary High School Class of 1997, organized a GoFundMe page to help cover his return and burial expenses, which has so far raised more than $17,000.

The family said in a statement: “We lost this beautiful soul on Thursday, September 19, 2019. He was with the love of his life, doing what he loved in life – adventure. Words cannot express the void that now exists in the hearts of everyone he loved and who loved him. His beautiful eyes and infectious smile will stay with us forever.”


By Rachel DeSantis
 https://people.com/human-interest/family-questions-alleged-drowning-during-underwater-proposal/


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## Ms. Tarabotti (Sep 25, 2019)

Southernbella. said:


> He was outside the window of their underwater room.



So you couldn't propose wearing a snorkeling suit or air tanks?

I don't care how strong a swimmer you are or how many times you have been snorkeling, you can't hold your breath forever.


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## weaveadiva (Sep 25, 2019)

I don't understand what the family is contesting? How else do they think he died underwater?


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## Farida (Sep 25, 2019)

weaveadiva said:


> I don't understand what the family is contesting? How else do they think he died underwater?



People always want to believe conspiracies. It is hard to accept such a senseless death. Before I heard people with experience explain it I was confused by his death as well.

Plus he was in “Africa” so of course folks are going to want to make it this scary place they make it out to be...


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## Laela (Sep 25, 2019)

Family's out to sue a whole country for their son's fatally foolish mistake.. ugh


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## dancinstallion (Sep 27, 2019)

Maybe he committed suicide. He wanted his girlfriend to have a dream proposal but he didn't want to get married. He knew better than to swim that far down without gear on.

Reminds me of the guy who committed suicide at his reception.


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## weaveadiva (Sep 27, 2019)

dancinstallion said:


> Reminds me of the guy who committed suicide at his reception.


Oh my goodness this is horrible. I can only imagine how his partner felt.


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## Jmartjrmd (Sep 28, 2019)

Aj and I vacationed here before.  
It's not uncommon for people to swim down without scuba gear.  Back when we stayed they would let you book the underwater room for one night as its terribly expensive ( at that time $1500 per night)
The room is anchored to the ocean floor so it sways just like a boat would especially if the sea is choppy as ours was so really feel it.   I get horribly seasick so while I loved the experience half a day would have been fine as it takes a day ot 2 for me before I overcome that seasick ferling.
In fact when the boat came to pick us up our driver offered to dive down to get pictures for us.
I believe he simply couldnt hold his breath the necessary amount of time to make it back.
They give you a phone but we never needed to use it.   There is a security boat nearby so not sure why that wasnt available to help her.
The butler boat came at set times to deliver lunch and dinner.
Tragic ending for both families.


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## ScorpioBeauty09 (Sep 28, 2019)

How horrible. I feel terrible for everyone. 

But it is odd that an experienced swimmer like him would take a risk like that. I would expect an inexperienced swimmer to take this kind of risk.


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## Reinventing21 (Sep 28, 2019)

Are they implying he met with his untimely horrifying demise because they were an interracial couple?

I feel so sad for her, they seem so made for each other.


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## Theresamonet (Sep 28, 2019)

TrulyBlessed said:


> *Family Questions Man's Alleged Drowning During Underwater Proposal: 'All We Keep Talking About'*
> Rachel DeSantis
> September 24, 2019 02:11 PM
> 
> ...




The sister keeps saying that he’s been snorkeling multiple times, but he wasn’t snorkeling when he died, so that’s irrelevant. When snorkeling, you stay close to the water’s surface and get regular intervals of air. That’s not what he was doing. He was 30 feet under.

I looked up a little about free diving, and they say it’s very important to be in a relaxed state to control your breathing and the heart rate has to stay under a certain number of beats per minute. So proposing to the love of your life + free diving, just don’t go together. He made a foolish decision.


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