Romance blossomed thanks to a broken leg and mechanical bull

The first ever televised Rose of Tralee engagement took place last night — and typical of the festival’s bizarre style, the happy couple have a broken leg and mechanical bull to thank for it.

New Orleans Rose Molly Molloy Gambel’s college sweetheart, Kyle Catlett, popped the question during the first of two shows to decide who is named the competition’s 2013 winner.

In a move that was part brave, part crazy, the 23-year-old stepped out in front of a television audience of more than 500,000 people and thousands more in the festival’s dome to ask his girlfriend of 18 months for her hand in marriage.