(Video at bottom of story.)
Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll
The openly transgender lead singer of alt-rock band, The Cliks, asks his girlfriend to marry him in front of a crowd of 5,000 roaring fans at Toronto Pride.
Skye and I have not been together for very long but there was no denying from the day I met her, I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and I knew that I had to make it special. I’m a hopeless romantic and I wasn’t about to take Skye out to some typical fancy dinner and put a ring in a Champagne glass. Nope, it had to be bigger than that.
I had a big show with my band The Cliks for Toronto Pride, which is usually our biggest show of the year. I thought it would be a great idea to ask her to marry me in front of oh, about 5,000 people.
I decided to call Skye’s mom to ask for her hand in marriage because, to me, chivalry is not dead. She was beyond supportive, going to lengths to tell me she knew I was perfect for Skye and that she needed someone like me in her life. I was beyond moved.
I had not had an easy life being accepted for who I was in the past by families of my partners. People had been kind to me for the most part, but I never felt truly comfortable. I even remember my last long-term girlfriend asking me to stay upstairs when her grandmother came to visit one Christmas. To her, it was just easier to not deal with telling her grandmother she was proud of our relationship. I was devastated. These are the things some queer people deal with. But Skye’s family welcomed me with open arms, and all of them knowing exactly who I was from the beginning. There was never any shame around our relationship and I finally felt 100 percent accepted.
Now, the question was “How do I keep this a secret from Skye?”
From secretly taking a day with one of my best friends Lexi to go ring shopping to getting Skye’s sister to organize friends and family to be at the show and coordinating with Toronto Pride Entertainment, I thought for sure someone was going to slip.
Another challenge was getting her on stage. Luckily, Skye is also a singer and we had done a duet in the past for an event. I thought it would be a stretch because she’s so shy but when I asked if she was down to do it, she miraculously agreed.
Once backstage, I had forgotten to tell her that her parents were coming so when they arrived, I completely fibbed and said “Surprise! I didn’t want to make you nervous so I didn’t tell you they were coming to uh, um, watch you sing!” She totally bought it. Meanwhile, I had passed the ring on to Lexi, who, let’s just say, was in full Pride spirit with some spirits.
Then I had to make sure that the film crew got in. Yes, the film crew. My pals are filmmakers and are shooting a documentary on me and, of course, this had to be part of it. After setting them in place, a lovely Pride volunteer calls me aside to mention they had a bottle of Champagne for us to celebrate afterwards.
Before going on stage, I gave Skye a kiss and, knowing she would quickly leave after her performance, said, “Remember, you have to be side stage at your cue. And babe, take time to bow. Don’t rush off stage. Okay?”
As I hit the stage, Hill and Pat, my band, looked at me with big smiles. “Are you ready?” Pat mouthed to me over the loud crowd. I nodded.
The crowd was huge and I was nervous. We finished the cue song and I introduced Skye as the crowd cheered loudly. Together, we went into a cover rendition of You’re The One That I Want by my friend Danielle Duval, which we made into duet.
Once the song finished, I took off my guitar and yelled over the roaring crowd, “Everybody a huge hand for Skye Chevolleau.” Thankfully, she had followed my directions and was taking her time to walk off stage.
I then say into the mic “And Skye, hold on a second,” as Lexi walks on stage with the ring. “I have a little bit of a surprise.” I see the puzzled look on her face as I unwrap the mic from the stand, take the ring from Lexi and get down on one knee. She puts her hands over her face and I see her hands shake. The crowd is roaring!
With my heart beating firmly, I look up at her and say “Hey baby. Will you marry me?” She is smiling such a huge smile, grabs the mic and says “Fuck yes!”
My heart swelled. I got up and put the ring on her finger and said “I love you.” We embraced as the crowd in front of us cheered, sending us so much loving energy.
It was the happiest moment of my life.
I know it is without a doubt the best decision I have ever made and I will be reminded of that every day for the rest of our lives.
Asking someone to marry you is not about a big wedding to spend money on or get gifts. To me, it’s about two lives coming together and the commitment that you have to each other, that through thick and thin, you will stand by one other no matter what life throws your way.
I plan on being the best husband I can be to the most beautiful, kind soul I have ever met. I’m going to make sure she never regrets saying “Yes.”
