Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
While plenty of eyes have been fixed on the security entrance to Madison Square Garden for a certain celebrity wedding, it seems love is in the air elsewhere — very high up in the air, I might add. On Wednesday, a daredevil couple snuck onto the top of the Empire State Building, climbed up its transmitter, and got engaged. The duo, who have since been identified as Angela Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, wore all black, including face masks, as they waved a flag that read “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” Then, as they shimmied their way back down, Kuznetsov popped the question to his climbing partner. They were filmed kissing and, later, Nikolau posted a photo of her shiny new rock to Instagram — view and all. She coyly captioned the carousel of images, “Empire State Building, New York.”
Per ABC News, Nikolau and Kuznetsov, 33 and 32 respectively, are known for performing daredevil stunts around the world, some of which were featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story. (According to Deadline, this particular stunt had nothing to do with the Netflix show.) While the couple is probably used to extreme heights, it seems they still had to do a decent amount of finagling to sneak up to the tippy-top. The NYPD suspects they accessed the spire from a 102nd-floor maintenance hatch, broke a lock, and were monitoring staff movements, ABC reported.
JUST IN: After two people climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a banner on top of its spire Wednesday afternoon, one of the climbers appeared to propose to the other. https://t.co/ngG3jOeTBU pic.twitter.com/PhubQpnRH6
— ABC News (@ABC) July 1, 2026
After the pair were spotted, two members of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit climbed up to intercept them as a helicopter circled the building. The couple was placed into custody around 1 p.m. — but not before Nikolau was seen capturing the perfect angle for her ring pic.
On Thursday, Nikolau and Kuznetsov were charged with multiple felonies in Manhattan criminal court, including reckless endangerment and burglary, per ABC. They did not enter a plea and were released from custody — which they celebrated by making out for the cameras before descending into the subway. Just a couple of crazy kids in love, I guess.
This post has been updated.
Stay in touch.
The latest in style, self, culture, and power in your inbox.
Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice
Related