"He didn't know about leap day but he'd heard about it on the radio. When I got home from work he was really nervous ... but I totally put him off," she says.
Then in her late 20s and studying at film school, Julia made her Star Wars fan boyfriend a movie. She superimposed her face on Princess Leia and his on Hans Solo. The movie opened in typical Star Wars fashion with huge text scrolling across the screen giving a bit of background. In the final scene of her home-made flick, Leia popped the question and Kurt had to respond using the yes or no option on the hotel remote control.
"I knew that he'd say yes," she said.
"[After eight years together] I'd been waiting for long enough," Julia said.
"He wanted to buy this really fancy ring and I just knew it was going to take forever ... I didn't really care so much about that."
"I don't see anything wrong with women proposing any day of the year."
According to the legend:
During the 5th Century in Ireland, St Bridget complained to St Patrick that women had to wait for too long for a man to propose, and so he decreed that ladies could ask a man to marry them on the last, extra, day of February during a leap year. Traditions have varied across countries, but in Scotland a law was passed in 1288 which said that a man who refused a proposal would have to pay a fine, of either a kiss or money towards a silk gown or pair of gloves.
* Ladies, would you propose on a leap year? Lads would you like your lover to pop the question?
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