Just minutes after being sworn in as an NYPD officer, Phillip Santana, 30, took one more leap of faith.
Santana staged a surprise proposal for his girlfriend of five years, Jennifer Guzman, also 30, after the NYPD Police Academy graduation ceremony at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Pretending to be interviewing him for a TV segment, reporter Myles N. Miller asked Santana to spell his name — and that of his “fiance.” Guzman looked confused as Santana pretended to look for this “fiance,” until her boyfriend revealed a ring.
He got down on one knee, and Guzman promptly started crying — before saying yes. The pair then lifted up 2-year-old son Alexander, and embraced as a family.
“I’m on cloud nine right now,” said Santana, who added the two have known each other since they attended high school in Washington Heights. “This is like the best day of my life.”
For her part, Guzman said she was “speechless” and not expecting Santana to pop the question — in front of TV cameras, print and radio reporters no less.
Santana said he has been planning to propose “ever since I fell in love with her.”
