Proposing to someone takes a lot of courage — but that doesn't mean you have to say yes.

Reddit gathered the most cringeworthy tales of rejected proposals and you might just resort to a life of solitude after reading these.

Your reasoning for this rejection checks out, frankbrutally.

It was in front of both sets of parents, and it was the only time in my life, before or since, that I literally heard a voice in my head. The voice said N O O O O.

Let me get out my tiny violin, chuck_cascio.

I once saw a guy propose in a restaurant where he had a fancy violin player come into a not-so-fancy restaurant (Perkins). He mad a big scene, and she said "absolutely not". They both left soon after. It was super uncomfortable. However, my friend told me his co-worker saw the same thing that same weekend at a different restaurant, so either two guys had very poorly thought out ideas, or someone was making a prank video. I search YouTube for it every now and again, but never found it.

Yeah, maybe don't propose to a person with social anxiety in one of the most public places on the planet, NotYourEverydayHero's ex.

Because when you're recovering from crippling social anxiety and your boyfriend proposes to you at the Trevi Fountain surrounded by applauding people, it makes you question how well he knows you.

This isn't a rejection, but a master class in bad public proposals from the_ultima_thule.

My friend and I witnessed a proposal at the fountain on our trip to Rome last year. Obviously they happen there all the time and the idea of it is nice but the real thing looked so uncomfortable. Two feet from us this guy got down on one knee and proposed. She said yes and I'm sure she was happy but it was baking hot, we could barely move for the crowds of people and they both looked red and sweaty and uncomfortable. She burst into tears, he was crying , strangers everywhere were clapping and cheering and all I could think was that it seemed like an awful way to propose!

Hey berthejew, it is kind of bitchy to call it the "ghetto mall," to be fair.

We were in the food court at a local mall. It wasn't even the good mall, it was the ghetto one where everyone was loud and unruly, but I digress.

I was 20 and 8 months pregnant with his child, we were discussing an argument we had a few days prior that resulted in me leaving, afraid of him and his temper. He showed up in a suit and tie, handed me a ring that his mom gave him, and when I asked, "what's this for?" He slithered out of his chair onto his knees and asked me very loudly to marry him. I've never heard the ghetto mall go so quiet, and the place was packed.

I said, "uhhh, seriously? Here?"

He took it the wrong way and began gushing about how yes, he was serious, how marriage could fix us before the baby came, he doesn't mean to choke me a few days ago, he's sorry...

I had to walk away. I was embarrassed and wanted to melt through the floor. I left him there on his knees, angry. He screamed to me, "fine, be that way you BIIIIITCH"

I should've grabbed my Chinese food though. Only regret.

How do people like this have $8,000 lying around, sweetalkersweetalker?

Late to the party as always.

We'd been friends for about 3 years and I finally agreed to give him a chance and go out with him.

He showed up at my work, after 2 dates, when I'd told him the night before I thought we were better off as "just friends".

He spent $8000 on a ring, made a spectacle of himself, and refused to leave my workplace parking lot after I said "Sorry, no". The police had to be called to escort him away.

... We are no longer friends.

But why would Jesus lie, Stevioso???

Not my story, but my friend’s. A guy she had known from work for about one year invited her to lunch, she assumed as friends because he had a girlfriend for the entire time my friend knew him. Anyway, they went to O’Charley’s, and he started telling her about how he had found Jesus. Apparently Jesus came to him in a dream and told him that he and my friend were destined to be together, so he got down on one knee in O’Charley’s and proposed. She declined and GTFO’ed.

Shoulda left that fling in London, dehast's friend.

Not me but a friend. She went to London for her college exchange program and had a beautiful lovestory with an English guy, then came back and they were talking on Skype almost everyday for a year. She started having second thoughts and he asked what he could do to fix it. She told him to come to Brazil so they could see if the magic was still there. He booked a flight the next day. After two great weeks together, he was even more in love and she decided she should move on. She took him to the airport and he proposed right at the gate. She said no and left. Brutal.

Is this a cautionary tale, nurseclank?

A friend and I once climbed to the top of the O2 / Millenium Dome in London. It's a whole thing where you have a guide, and you put on safety equipment and you climb up the dome with about 30 others in single file.

Once at the top the guide told us about a previous climb where a guy proposed to his girlfriend, she said no, and they had to climb down separately with him crying all the way.

We might need, like 500 more words on this, ihavetogotospacenow.

I was 16, at Ozfest with my then boyfriend. Ran into my weird, creepy, full makeup juggalo 17 year old cousin who I hadn't seen in 5+ years in line to get in. Cousin attempted to propose in line, I gagged and had to hold back angry boyfriend.

He was my only cousin. Now when people ask, I tell them I have 0 cousins.

Crying in the park?! Say it ain't so, AsinineBinkie.

My girlfriend's boyfriend before me proposed to her. It was at her favrorite park. So really, it was a nice proposal. The problem was it hadn't even been a year since they started dating and they were having problems at the time. She clearly saw that they weren't working and wanted to break up. He pretty much just wanted someone to raise his daughter for him. She broke up with him and had to drove him home while he cried. He then threatened to kill himself. He's now married to someone else who he proposed to after only a few months.

This one's a close call with a happy ending.

I wanted to propose to my wife at our favorite pub on New Year's Eve, right as the ball hit zero, with her sister and her sister's boyfriend in attendance.

She somehow got wind and put an absolute stop to it. She did not want to be proposed to in public, and made it very clear she would say No in as public a manner as possible if I still did it.

So I delayed the proposal two months until the end of February on our Valentine's Day date (I had been out of town for two weeks starting on the 13th). Took her out for dinner, then took her to our favorite spot on the mountain that overlooked the entire city and the lake and the cruise ship and did it there at midnight.

Public proposals can be really tacky if not done right or if you don't know your partner.

One word for scorpiolafuega's partner: yikes.

Id already told him no in private!

Oh, this explanation from SilverXerion's partner seems legit.

Because we were in Vegas and just wanted to get married as a tourist attraction (if you get married here is not legal she said).

CatPatronus tells of what happens when you miss your target.

Not me but my husband was at a target one day and saw this guy get down on one knee at the entrance and proposed. The woman apparently looked at him and then walked right back out the store.

When blairsmash's partner proposed, she was not lovin' it.

I had left my ex due to the fact that he cheated on me with both men and women. And every time he would get too drunk, he would confess to me that he was gay. He was distraught for weeks and asked me to meet him in person to talk so I agreed. He proposed to me in the McDonald’s parking lot and I said fuck no.

16 tales of rejected marriage proposals that will make you want to stay single forever.