Mark Sanford Proposed After Hiding in a Bathroom for an Hour
You may have heard about former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's engagement to his longtime Argentine girlfriend, but did you catch the best part? According to The Associated Press, Sanford lay in wait for his lover in a restaurant bathroom for an hour before she finally arrived and he could carry out his gimmicky proposal, as recounted by the manager at the Bella Italia Grille in Buenos Aires, home of the city's best veal chop, according to Fodor's. The Italian restaurant is a regular destination for Sanford and his girlfriend Maria Belen Chapur, with whom he had an affair while in office. (You probably remember that he said he was hiking the Appalachian trail while visiting her.) The former governor put a lot of planning into the proposal, which involved a waiter bringing the engagement ring to his future fiancée, according to The AP, but in the end he had to hide out in a toilet to make the surprise work:
The manager said Sanford settled on a table for two near the door, and left the engagement ring in a small box with one of the waiters, telling him to give it to Chapur when she arrived. Then he hid out in the bathroom for disabled guests, where cracking open the door provides a direct view of the table, and waited for more than an hour before she finally arrived, the manager said.
Never let it be said Sanford doesn't know dedication to his partner. As long as it's the right one.
