Man fakes the kidnapping of his Australian girlfriend in Lebanon, surprise proposal

A Sydney man faked kidnapping his girlfriend during a trip to Lebanon in a wild joke that has been called “the most controversial marriage proposal ever.”

Images were posted of Adam and Vanessa’s surprise engagement TikTok by his sister Tahlia in early April, captioned “how my brother decided to propose in Lebanon.”

In the video, Vanessa was seen happily drinking coffee in the backseat of a car near Anfeh, in the northwest of the country, with Tahlia, her mother and another relative.

Strangers in balaclavas then stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road, opened the doors while holding fake weapons and dragged the screaming women from their seats.

‘No thanks!’ Vanessa was heard screaming.

“I’m not going with them—I told them I’ll give them whatever they want.”

Pictured: Vanessa, blindfolded in a car during a fake hostage situation in Lebanon

There were chaotic scenes as the would-be kidnappers pushed a shrieking Vanessa into another vehicle and blindfolded her.

Her family, knowing about the surprise proposal, frantically got back in their car and drove off.

“She’s going to fucking lose it,” you heard a male friend say.

Vanessa was visibly shocked and confused when she was taken hostage and driven to a mysterious location – she kept trying to remove her blindfold, but was repeatedly told to stop.

She was howling in terror by the time she was pulled out of the car, still blindfolded, and led down a gravel path.

‘What is going on?’ she asked, panicked and overcome with fear.

When her blindfold was removed, live music started playing and her family members started screaming with joy.

Vanessa burst into tears when she realized that Adam, her boyfriend of five years, was standing in front of her with a large bouquet of flowers.

Vanessa was blindfolded during a mock kidnapping (pictured left). She burst into tears when she realized it was a proposal

Vanessa’s long-term boyfriend has proposed to her in Lebanon (pictured). She was so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t stop crying

Laughing, he walked over to her, laid the flowers on the floor and took a ring box from his pocket.

When he got down on one knee to propose, she was overcome with emotion and started sobbing and laughing at the same time.

‘You are joking!’ she yelled as tears streamed down her cheeks as she crouched with her head in her hands.

The proposal itself was inaudible, but Adam hugged her and put the ring on her finger – while musicians and dancers surrounded them in celebration.

Days later, Vanessa uploaded pictures of the engagement on social media — with pictures of her and Adam kissing and watching the sunset.

She called it a “dream come true.” There was no mention of the fake hostage-taking.

TikTok users were divided over the controversial proposal – some were shocked and thought she should have declined, but others thought it was funny and creative.

“She’s not crying because he’s proposing…she’s crying because her life flashed in her eyes and she thought she [dead],” one user wrote in the comments.

Another wrote, “So cute yet horrifying at the same time I would have passed out from fear on the way.”

Another suggested it was “the greatest proposal of all time,” while another said he hopes it “becomes a trend.”

Vanessa described getting engaged as a “dream come true” in a social media post. She is pictured with Adam, after he proposed