Bella Thorne, the former Disney star turned unapologetic pop culture lightning rod, decided to flip the script on tradition this weekend—and oh, did the internet notice. The 27-year-old took to social media to share a video of “herself” getting down on one knee and proposing to her fiancé, entrepreneur Mark Emms, two years after “he” had originally popped the question.
Now, you’d think this would be one of those “aww, full-circle love story” moments, right? Not so fast.
The video, which she captioned with a timeline of their love—“3 years ago we met, 1 year later he proposed. Now 1 year later so did I”—sparked a social media brawl that could teach the UFC a thing or two. While plenty of fans sent congratulations and heart emojis flying, the other half? Well, they came in swinging.
One user, who racked up nearly 100,000 likes, scolded: “Ok ladies, let’s not normalise this, okay?” Another simply said, “Girl, get up.” And perhaps the boldest jab? “It’s a joke right? Why women do this to themselves is solely the man’s role.”
Yep. Apparently, 2025 still has people clutching pearls over who kneels first in a relationship.
But let’s not pretend the internet is a monolith. Thorne’s defenders rolled in strong, with one calling the proposal a symbol of “equality for their relationship,” while another added, “Let love be love.” Simple, powerful, and frankly, the kind of energy social media could use more of.
And what did Bella have to say about all this digital chaos?
In classic Thorne fashion, she took it in stride—laughing off the backlash on her Instagram Stories the next day. “The comments on my post are hilarious!!” she wrote. “Totally split down the middle… half of u are like let’s not normalize proposing to your partner—other half is like f— yeah girl power this is the sweetest!!”
This isn’t Bella’s first time ruffling feathers. She’s been candid about everything from her bisexuality to her open relationships. Whether it was Mod Sun, Benjamin Mascolo, or Tana Mongeau—Thorne’s relationships have “never” followed a script. And guess what? That’s kind of the point.
She’s not trying to fit in anyone’s box. She never has. And maybe that’s why people can’t stop talking—whether they’re cheering or jeering.
