Irish man Bobby Murphy proposed to his girlfriend Nessa Maloney via Zoom when they were stuck in separate countries amidst the coronavirus lockdowns.

Bobby Murphy has been living in Abu Dhabi since October 2018 due to work commitments and found himself more than 6,000 kilometers away from his girlfriend Nessa Maloney when COVID-19 broke out. 

Murphy had intentions to propose to Maloney, an Irish Naval Service Lieutenant Commander based in Co Cork, over the Easter holiday, but those plans were scuppered when governments around the world implemented lockdowns and travel bans to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.

So, Murphy got creative. After asking Maloney's parents for their blessing, he decided to incorporate the virtual proposal into the family's quiz night that they've been hosting weekly on Zoom since the outbreak began.

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Murphy told RTÉ News: "It was the weekly family table quiz, which we use Zoom for. Nessa and I were going to be the quizmasters. So I did a picture quiz and figured I would just slot in another question."

That question asked his girlfriend: "Nessa would you marry me?" 

She replied: "Yes Bobby, I will." 

Maloney said that she was delighted that her family got to witness the emotional event as it happened and said that the news spread like wildfire through her extended family. 

"I’m very, very happy. It was lovely to have all the family there and you could see everybody was really excited, as our extended family and friends as the news has spread," she told RTÉ.

The couple has understandably not set a date for their wedding as COVID-19 continues to cast uncertainty and doubt over every aspect of Irish life. 

They do talk every day on Zoom, however, according to Bobby Murphy. 

You can watch the RTE News report on Murphy and Maloney's long-distance proposal here:

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