Man From Venus Proposes At Last

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but Denise Alsop expected more when her beau gave her a diamond ring.

The supersized sparkler came without a marriage proposal and without any mention of taking their relationship to the next level.

"I can't remember the day I gave it to her," says Ed Rhoades. "That's the horrible thing, don't do that."

Even Denise's school-aged children were confused. Her friend, Kim Ritner, remembers, "I glanced at her hand and said, 'Good god, what a rock.' She said, 'First it's a friendship ring, engagement ring. I don't know.' "

Alsop and Rhoades met by chance in March 2005 and immediately began a relationship. Two months earlier, Ritner had tried to introduce them, but Alsop wouldn't hear of it.

"Denise and I work together and we would meet in the mornings and have our chat session before we started our day," Ritner says. "Every morning, Denise would come in and say, 'You know, there isn't a man out there for me.' And so I told her that I wanted her to meet somebody, but she just, you know, kind of forgot it."

Alsop says she trusted her friend but was wary of blind dates. "I have always said, in the back of my mind, it (the date) was like Sasquatch."

After meeting Rhoades, Alsop told Ritner she had seen the man of her dreams.

In November 2005, Rhoades surprised her with the ring.

"Deep down in my heart, I knew this was the woman for me. I was enthralled with her, " Rhoades says.

But he is a man from Venus — Venus, Pa., that is — and he gave her the ring without a proposal.

John Gray, author of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex," says the man from Venus made a classical Martian mistake. "It's definitely a Martian mistake, giving the ring before the commitment," he says.

Now, Rhoades wants to make things right and he appealed to The Early Show during its "Magic Moments" offer to help him make a proper proposal.

Monday morning, on network TV, Rhoades proposed. With Ritner and The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler looking on, Rhoades got on one knee and told Alsop: "Remember last year, I gave you a poem; remember what it said? It kind of expressed my love for you. I think God blessed me with an angel. You healed my heart when I needed it so desperately. I wanted to be your prince some day. You are the water that drops off my mountains, the waves in my sea and the flowers that bloom in my garden. Therefore, you are the love of my life. I want to know if you will marry me."

Alsop said yes, and her children surprised her by joining them all on the The Early Show set.

The happy couple was given a honeymoon in Hawaii by The Early Show, with air transportation from American Airlines and five nights at the Grand Wailea Resort on Maui. To celebrate, they were also given
a carriage ride through Central Park.

American Airlines and MagicProposals.com helped The Early Show make Rhoades wish come true.