News Anchor Defends Her Fiancé After He Proposes on a Ripped Piece of Paper

A Georgia woman is fighting against online haters for criticizing how her fiancé proposed. Atlanta news anchor Erica Murphy shared the exciting news of her engagement on social media and wasn't expecting the backlash she received.

"So it's been an amazing year with my guy. This morning before I left for work he left this in the bathroom for me to find. I said YES! #FutureMrsHomes," she tweeted. While people did congratulate her on the big announcement, others were appalled by the simple proposal. 

On a piece of paper torn from a notebook, Monta Homes wrote, "Will you marry me?" and left it on the counter in the bathroom for Murphy, along with a candlelit. Murphy said yes and was ecstatic about the "sweet" proposal.

However, some didn't think the proposal was so sweet and were shocked at how Homes asked his future wife to marry him. But Murphy was "overjoyed."

In an interview with TODAY, Homes explained he wanted to catch Murphy off guard and thought she'd never suspect a proposal like this. "This is the type of person I am. I want to catch her when she least expected it," he told the outlet.

"I know other people wanted me to get the blimp with 'the world is yours' and all that other stuff. But that's just, I mean, I could have done that. But I like this better," he explained.

While others weren't impressed with the proposal, Murphy loved it. "To me, it was very sweet," she told TODAY. "I mean, this morning, for instance, I woke up because I still have this piece of paper that everyone's talking so badly about. I woke up, he's back in Detroit, and I looked at this piece of paper, and I just smiled and said, 'Monta, you're so adorable' because I think it was really heartfelt."

Murphy has been defending her fiancé since tweeting about the proposal and has no problem responding to mean commenters but in a friendly way. "Umm…a note? Torn out like that?" one person wrote. "Aww… it was creative," she replied. Another added, "Is he shy? Lol 😂 hope this proposal was exactly what you've dreamt of," and Murphy shot back, "Not shy but I do think he struggled with how to do this. Big step for a guy. LOTSA pressure. I'm overjoyed he wrote the note."

Someone else tweeted, "My first thought so he literally can't ask you? That's uh different especially if you live together? 🤷🏾‍♀️ was like what she wanted, her dream proposal?" Murphy responded, "We actually don't live together. I'm in ATL he's in Detroit. It wasn't hue I envisioned it going down but I'm overjoyed." Another questioned, "And what do you tell your future kids? There are no pictures or anything for her to cherish."

After Murphy posted news of her engagement, she soon went viral, and national talk shows were talking about the proposal. "I will say that it's one thing when you see someone else go viral and, you know, clicking and laughing and all that kind of stuff. But it's a totally different feeling when it's you," she told TODAY. Today, I felt a little embarrassed," she added. "It was on Sherri Shepherd's show, and Hoda and Jenna had done a segment on it yesterday."

The couple currently live in different cities–she's in Atlanta, and Homes lives in Detroit. Murphy wants people to understand that while the proposal was simple, it wasn't effortless. "I do want to set the record straight," Murphy told TODAY. "This man flew in from Detroit to do this. This wasn't an afterthought."

The day before the proposal, Murphy had a challenging day at work and wasn't in the best mood. "I had a really rough day the day before," she said. Murphy explained she had a tough assignment for work where she had to cover a Confederate memorial event that was difficult.

"I've never seen so many Confederate flags in my life. I was just like really exhausted." She admitted she was burnt out by the time she got home to see Homes. "He had flown in the night before, and he was laying there with his boxers looking so comfortable, and I've just been in the battlefield," she explained.

The next day, Murphy still wasn't in a good mood, especially since she woke up to Homes making noise 30 minutes before she had to get up for work. "I was just so irritated. It was a carryover irritation from before," she said.  "He gets back in the bed, and he moves in closer, and he's just kind of holding me," she recalls. "So we just laid there for a while, talking and laughing a little bit."

She got up to get ready, and that's when she saw the piece of paper. Homes woke up early to put away his clutter and find a spot where she'd see his note. Although some people didn't see the thought Homes put into the proposal, he doesn't care "When I go on social media. I come on there to have fun," he explained to TODAY. "I'm from Detroit. I got pettiness around me all day, every day. It's not running me under a rock."