‘We both forgot to say yes’: Couple stunned after they propose to each other at the same time

Rachel Hundertmark, left, and Rashad Polk, centre, proposed to each other simultaneously, shocking each other at the Modest Mouse concert in Columbia in June. At right is Jasmine Halstead, Hundertmark’s daughter, who recorded the moment. Photo / Rachel Hundertmark
Rachel Hundertmark and Rashad Polk have been inseparable since they shared their first kiss at a concert of indie rock band Modest Mouse in Baltimore two-and-a-half years ago.
Polk said that for months, he knew he wanted to propose to Hundertmark, but she’d once mentioned that she’d never been married and had no desire to try it.
“I’d never been married either, but I really wanted to give it a shot,” said Polk, 41.
Then this past spring, Hundertmark, 36, quietly thought to herself that perhaps she did want to tie the knot with Polk. After all, they’d talked about a future together.
“I thought, ‘If I want to be with Rashad forever, then I might as well make it official and put a label on it,” she said. “But I didn’t want a traditional proposal.”
She got her wish.
Modest Mouse was appearing at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland on June 14, and since they were attending, Hundertmark decided she would buy a ring and propose to Polk at the concert.
Hundertmark told her daughter, Jasmine Halstead, 16, about her plan, and Jasmine agreed that she would attend the performance and record the proposal. Hundertmark also invited her mum and several friends and relatives to attend with general admission tickets.
Nobody knew that Polk was quietly working up a proposal plan of his own for the same night. Two weeks before the concert, Polk took Jasmine aside and told her that he was planning to propose to her mum there.
“I told Jasmine, ‘I’m nervous, but I really want to do this big thing – are you cool with it?’” Polk recalled.
“I was trying hard not to laugh, but I said, ‘Sure, that makes me really happy,’” Jasmine said. “Then I knew I had two secrets to keep.”
On the big night, Hundertmark and Polk each tucked diamond rings into their pockets and headed to the venue to spread out a quilt and sit on the lawn.
As Modest Mouse launched into their second song, “Dashboard,” Hundertmark said she tapped her daughter twice on her arm to signal that it was time to start filming.
Hundertmark pulled a purple ring box from her pocket, lowered herself onto one knee and asked Polk if he would marry her.
“I told him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life on the Merriweather lawn with him,” she said.
Polk burst into surprised laughter and pulled a white ring box from his pocket as he joined her on one knee.
“I was absolutely shocked,” he said. “We both forgot to say ‘yes’ – we just hugged each other and cried, we were so happy.”
As everyone around them applauded, Jasmine kept recording.
“It was a lot of fun to keep their secret, but I was glad it was finally out,” she said. “It was such a great moment, and I was happy to play a part.”
Last month, Hundertmark decided to share Jasmine’s video on TikTok, where it quickly racked up almost 475,000 views.
“The way my jaw dropped when he pulled out a ring too! Instant tears,” one person commented on TikTok.
“Awwww now this was so cute!!! Ladies don’t try this at home ya’ll, man might just have lint in his pockets. Congrats,” another follower posted.
Hundertmark said she shouldn’t have been surprised that she and Polk proposed at the same time.
“We’ve always been on the same wavelength, so it feels like it was just meant to be,” she said.
“I hope that by sharing the video, other women will be inspired to take charge if they want to,” she added. “I feel empowered to live in an age and a time where I can propose to the man that I love.”
She and Polk met in 2019 during a work project, but didn’t reconnect until April 2022, Hundertmark said. Both attend Baltimore City Community College, where she is a computer studies undergraduate student and Polk is pursuing a technical management master’s degree.
They’re now making plans for a September 28, 2025 wedding at the Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Centre in Marriottsville, where they first got to know each other in 2019.
“When we get married, it will be almost six years to the day that we met,” Polk said.
“We’ll definitely be playing some Modest Mouse music at the wedding,” Hundertmark added.