Woman Goes Viral After She's Hit in the Face by a Golf Ball Just Hours Before Her Boyfriend Proposes (Exclusive)

Ashlyn RobinetteWed, May 27, 2026 at 3:03 PM UTC

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Mark Michael and Jessica Blakeslee; Jessica Blakeslee
Credit: Courtesy of Jessica and Josie Blakeslee -

Jessica Blakeslee was hit in the face by a golf ball and left with a black eye in California on May 9

Despite the injury, her boyfriend Mark Michael popped the question hours later as planned instead of postponing his proposal

"The imperfection of it made it so much more real and so much more us," the bride-to-be tells PEOPLE of her engagement

Before Jessica Blakeslee got a diamond ring, she took a golf ball to the face.

Jessica, 28, recently went viral on TikTok after her sister, Josie Blakeslee, 27, posted a compilation of videos and photos from her engagement day gone wrong.

"Throwback to when my sister got hit in the face with a golf ball right before she got engaged," Josie wrote over a clip of Jessica sporting a serious black eye. She joked in the caption, "An engagement story FORE the books ⛳️💍."

The sisters explain to PEOPLE that they were with Jessica's then-boyfriend, Mark Michael, 27, on hole 11 of the golf course at Pacific Grove Golf Links in Pacific Grove, California, on the afternoon of Saturday, May 9, when a tee shot was accidentally shanked. The golf ball flew through a tiny crack in the windshield of their golf cart and struck Jessica, who was standing behind the cart near the bags.

"Unfortunately, it nailed me right in the face," Jessica tells PEOPLE. "Honestly, the odds of it happening that way were about one in a million."

As a former Division 1 athlete, Jessica is no stranger to face injuries and has survived multiple shiners and a broken nose. After a doctor at the resort confirmed that Jessica didn't show signs of a concussion or any other severe symptoms, she decided to go about her day with a "the show must go on" attitude.

"While it was painful, I was not about to let it derail the day," Jessica says.

Jessica Blakeslee
Credit: Courtesy of Jessica and Josie Blakeslee

Although Josie and Mark's top concern was Jessica's well-being, they were also worried about what was planned just a few hours later: her engagement.

After the accident, the pair met in secret with Jessica's parents to discuss whether or not they should still go through with the proposal plan.

Hundreds of commenters on TikTok argued that the proposal should have been postponed because they'd be "pissed" to get engaged with a swollen and bruised face. However, Jessica's family ultimately decided to stick with the plan.

"Since Jess confirmed she felt fine and wanted to continue with the rest of our activities planned for the day, we felt it wasn't fair for us to intervene with this thought-out proposal Mark had planned," Josie says. "Both our families were there, with relatives flying in from around the country. Mark had hired a photographer and revolved the engagement around a special place close to both his and Jess' hearts, so postponing the proposal wouldn't do anyone any favors. I like to joke, 'You can't postpone love!' "

She continues, "Of course, I was sad for her knowing that one of the biggest moments of her life was about to go down and this unfortunate incident happened, but if anyone could get engaged and rock a black eye at the same time, it would be Jess. I know my sister very well, we are very close, and if there was any indication I think she wouldn't want to go through with it, I would've stepped up and made the call. However, Jess is the kind of person that would be able to laugh it off and think it would make a great story one day, and she did just that."

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Mark Michael and Jessica Blakeslee
Credit: Courtesy of Jessica and Josie Blakeslee

In the evening, Josie did her best to cover Jessica's black eye with makeup as they got ready together to go out for "drinks" at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. Jessica admits to PEOPLE that she "had a small inkling that a proposal might be coming," given that she and Mark's entire families were there together.

"I was not going to let a bruise stop me from enjoying the evening," Jessica says.

Before joining their families for drinks, Mark suggested he and Jessica walk along the picturesque 18th hole, which is hugged by the Pacific Ocean.

"I was a little nervous, honestly, because people were still out playing golf and I had just been hit by a golf ball a few hours earlier," Jessica says.

Jessica's concern faded away once they reached Stillwater Cove Pier in Pebble Beach, which is "one of the most meaningful places" for the couple. The duo met not far from the area at University of the Pacific, and Mark, who is from Monterey, would often take Jessica to Pebble Beach.

Josie and Jessica Blakeslee
Credit: Courtesy of Jessica and Josie Blakeslee

"Stillwater Cove Pier is especially special to us because it is the very spot where we first said I love you to each other," Jessica says. "He got down on one knee there and told me that this place is incredibly special to him, and that I am incredibly special to him, and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me."

She adds, "The moment Mark got down on one knee, I completely forgot about my face. I was so overwhelmed with happiness and the enormity of the moment that my appearance was genuinely the last thing on my mind."

Jessica and Mark celebrated their engagement with their families with dinner and dancing at Dametra Cafe in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The bride-to-be says, "By that point, I had completely forgotten about my injury. I was just so overjoyed."

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Jessica wholeheartedly supports her fiancé's decision to not postpone the proposal.

"A black eye heals, but a moment like that, with both our families together, at the exact spot where we first said I love you, that is not something you reschedule," she says. "Life is not a photo shoot. I am so grateful that Mark and our families knew me well enough to know I could laugh this off and turn it into something we would never forget. The imperfection of it made it so much more real and so much more us."

She continues, "I would not trade my black eye engagement for a perfectly posed one any day of the week."

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”