MadameNoire
Source: David Livingston / Getty
2020 wasn’t all bad. It was filled with some high moments like home purchases, births, pregnancy announcements, weddings, and marriage proposals. For “9-1-1” actress Aisha Hinds, it was the latter.
“It was great to have a sip of joy in the year 2020,” Hinds told Essence of her November 2020 engagement. “That moment, for me, definitely disrupted the narrative for 2020. I’m glad that I can look back at 2020 in a way that has given me one highlight of the year. Just surviving 2020 is a highlight in itself, but that day was one of unexpected joy. He completely surprised me.”
The proposal took place on the actress’s birthday. She explained that it caught her completely by surprise because she wasn’t expecting much of a celebration due to the present pandemic.
“I was like, ‘Look, all I want is a steak from Houston’s and spinach dip,’” she laughed.
What was even more special than the fact that it took her by surprise was the fact that he chose a location that was once associated with negative memories and helped to redefine it.
“He got me good because we were at the Waldorf Astoria here in California and it was significant because when I graduated from college and I knew that I wanted to pursue work as an artist and an actress, I was going back home to New York and I came up with this master plan that I would work in the hotel industry because I can work overnight and therefore, I’ll be able to do all of my auditions during the day,” she explained. “All of the parts worked out except for the auditions and the Broadway shows. Working at this hotel overnight. It was the Waldorf Astoria in New York and I worked there until this place broke me. I was literally doing this thing and only this thing. The part of me who wanted to dream out loud was being silenced night after night after night as I checked people into their rooms in the sky. ”
Hinds went on:
“He helped to reimagine and redefine the Waldorf experience for me by having us stay at the Waldorf Astoria and then proposing on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria. He was like, ‘Now, you don’t work here. You can reap the benefits of being a guest but also, there’s this.’”
Even better, the Brooklyn native’s relatives were present to witness the special moment.
“His whole family, his tribe flew in. He called my friends. I had no idea. We were all masked up and I’m like, ‘Wait what’s happening right now?’ It was wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised,” she shared. “I’ve known him for such a long time that that’s what makes it so much sweeter at this stage in life. When we first got together as kids, it was cute to be like, ‘Yeah, we go together.’ But now we’re at the stage in our lives where we’re like we want to grow together.”
