It Turns Out Women Proposing On A Leap Year Is Still A Thing

New stats show that 52% of women would still feel more inclined to propose to a partner on February 29.

Updated on27th February 2020 at 3.29pm

2020 is a Leap Year, an event that only takes place every four years, where we actually get a February 29. And tradition dictates that on this rare date, women are allowed to propose to their other half.

Of course, this is nonsense. If you want to propose to somebody it really doesn’t matter what the date is (unless it’s during another person’s wedding, that’s a mean move).

But while lady leap year proposals are clearly an outdated concept, a survey has discovered that if women were to propose to their partners, 52% would still be more inclined to do so on 29 February.

In 2010, just 5% of engaged or married women had proposed to their partners. Last year in 2019, this number had jumped to 16%. This new data, from events company Chillisauce.com, suggests that although the majority of women still do not propose to their other half, there has been a considerable increase of women proposing in the last decade.

Although times have changed and stereotypes about gender roles have moved on considerably, when it comes to popping the question, the role is still typically seen as the man’s job. The survey also found that Valentine’s Day is the second most popular day for women to propose to their significant other. It seems that when there is a special occasion, women are willing to step up to the challenge, get down on one knee and pop the question.

So should we be offended by this heteronormative and archaic tradition, or is it quite sweet? In 'the old days' maybe this date was the one shot women really had at making their own decision about when they got married. Perhaps the rarity of the day is endearing and a cute story to tell the future grandkids about how Grandma took matters into her own hands and proposed to Grandad. Some engagement traditions can be a bit dodgy - like asking her father’s permission, women are not objects for sale. But is proposing on a leap year just about romantic enough to be charming?

If the 2010 film Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode is anything to go on, the leap year proposal is fraught with disaster. Although, that romantic comedy has aged pretty badly in general. Amy Adams’ character screaming as her plane goes down: ‘I’m not gonna die without getting engaged!’ will make feminists across the globe wince.

James Baddiley, spokesperson for Chillisauce.com, says, 'Whilst in years gone by it was taken for granted that the only acceptable date for women to propose was every four years on 29 February, it is now much more common and financially accessible for women to decide themselves when they are ready to get married, rather than waiting for years and years to be asked. That being said, the women polled in our research clearly harbour traditionalist views and feel as though 29 February fits well for the plans they’ve made. Either way, we’re certainly hoping to see an influx of enquiries for stag and hen party enquiries come 1 March...'

So good luck if you're plotting a proposal this weekend. Or just do it on any other day of the year... It’s 2020 and if you still want to get married after watching Marriage Story, then you go for it...