Man with days to live surprises girlfriend one last time — this time with a proposal: 'I still wear the ring'

Some love stories don’t last for long, but their love lingers forever. In May 2025, Anna Roxas Blake lost her husband to stage 4 cancer, cutting their fairytale short. In an episode of Make Big Talk, on Instagram, she shared that the most difficult part of her journey was losing “the love of [her] life.” Grief can also be rooted in the most precious memories, as Roxas goes on to discuss. In the video, she opens up about how her husband surprised her with an early anniversary dinner, just six days before he passed away. That night, while a cherishable memory, was tinged with the sorrow of all that joy being lost.

Anna, who goes by @annafroxas on Instagram, is an influencer and a blogger on Medium. She has been sharing her husband Michael’s story on her page. The latter had been battling cancer for two years, and one year into the journey, they decided to get married, which took place on May 21, 2024. He loved mountains so much that he proposed to her on a "beautiful hike" and asked her to "spread his ashes in the mountains or a lake nearby." The last chemo he had was on Valentine’s Day, when they were comfortable not doing anything elaborate. "We stayed at home, we were happy, we chose hospice," said Anna. 

In that episode, she shared, one day she had a girls' night out with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. "When I got back, our apartment was filled with small candles and bouquets. The dinner table was set up with food from our favorite local Italian restaurant, plus a beautiful gift and a handwritten card from Michael. He stood up, wearing a suit, looking all handsome as usual, with our song playing in the background," Roxas shared. He had an IV drip pole next to him, and as they looked into each other's eyes, they wondered, "How beautiful is it that we get to do this?" knowing they didn't have a lot of time left together. “Will keep this in my heart forever, as with all the other things he’s done and been,” she penned in her Instagram post's caption.

Losing a spouse is one of the most stressful events in life. According to the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory (also known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale) death of a spouse ranked at the top with 100 points on the mean value. This is also associated with the “widowhood effect” stated by psychologists. The effect is believed to increase the risk of dying in surviving spouses after they lose their partner. Amid all these facts, the research also shows the impact of memory on sustaining life. Roxas shared that she still wears her wedding ring and her husband’s wedding ring as well, in a chain around her neck. “I want people to be as expressive in love as they can. And in all the ways they can,” quoted Anna in the interview with Make Big Talk. 

People flooded the comment section, "Glad she found that love that many never find. I pray that she finds comfort in all her good memories," said @rampartrage55. "Oh my heart. Sending all my love. He lives on through her. May his memory be a blessing always," shared @northshoremeg. "This is so beautiful yet heartbreaking. I’m happy she got to experience this kind of love, even if it’s for a short period. Love transcends time and space, so this love is eternal and will always stay alive. Sending lots of love and strength to her," added @rajini_natraj85. 

"Whew. This took me out. What an incredible heart he had, and she got to experience and she gave him a love of a lifetime," wrote @jess.bahr. "You can feel the depth of love she has for him even beyond his existence in this physical realm, and even in processing the deep grief that must be present. Thank you to her for sharing this vulnerable moment as an honor of his life and their love," @t_ck_panda chimed in. @joanne_jc88 said, "Your story made me believe it is never about how long. It's about how meaningful. I'm sorry for your loss. You are so loved."