Romantics believe that “love conquers all” — and in the case of a Tennessee couple, a burning car was no match for their love. A man hid an engagement ring in a car — while he waited to pop the big question to his girlfriend. However, a fire destroyed the car, and he feared the ring got destroyed as well. The ring survived, though, and then the man proposed to his girlfriend. This ‘hunk of burning love,” whether the “hunk” is the man, the burning car, or the ring — you pick — ignited a marriage.

A couple drove a rental car, which started on fire while driving on an interstate in Tennessee 

Earlier this month in Tennessee, Myers Hart and his high school sweetheart, Brooklynn Stevens, drove a rental car on Interstate 840, as reported by WSMV News4 Nashville. Suddenly, they heard a “loud pop.” Hart then pulled the car to the side of the road to check on it. To his dismay, he found that the car was on fire. 

“There was a loud bang. I think the coolant reservoir blew, and it shot the hood up and spewed fluid everywhere, and then it went up in flames,” said Hart. 

Tennessee man realized he left the engagement ring inside of the burning car

The Tennessee couple safely made it out of the burning car, along with Stevens’ best friend, who was also in the vehicle. However, Hart soon realized that he had left the engagement ring in the car. “Her friend knew about it, and we looked at each other and said, ‘The ring is in there, and we couldn’t get it out,’” said Myers. 

Stevens’ friend also told Hart that “by that point, all they could do was pray the ring would make it through the fire.” Shortly after, a passing butterfly landed on the car. Was this butterfly a sign of good luck and changing fortunes? 

“After our car fire happened, a butterfly landed on our car, and my best friend was like, ‘Oh, that means good luck,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, we have such good luck. The car caught on fire. Amazing luck,” Stevens sarcastically joked.

The ring, encased in the ring box — melted to the seat from the car fire, was mostly untouched

Fortunately, the hopes and wishful thinking of Stevens’ best friend turned into reality. Williamson County Fire Rescue arrived at the scene, and the firefighters went to work to quickly put out the fire. After the firefighters extinguished the blaze, Steven’s friend “quietly asked them to look for the ring.” 

Steve Hopkins, a fire engineer, said, “And we started sifting through all the ashes and everything, and it was melted against the seat, and actually it was perfectly encased in the ring box, and I opened it up, and it looked brand new, so it was really a miracle.”

The proposal: ‘This was a sign I have to do it now’

Hart talked about the engagement ring — and his deliberations about when to pop the big question — with the firefighters. The firefighters told him that now was a good time to propose to his girlfriend after miraculously finding the ring amidst the ashes. 

Hart followed the advice of the firefighters and seized the moment. “Like this was a sign I have to do it now. And I had one of [firefighters] film, and we walked up there,” said Hart. 

To Stevens’ surprise, Hart proposed to her. “And he gets on one knee, and I’m like, ‘Here?’ and I started crying. I said, ‘Here? Right now? Like the car just caught on fire, are you serious? I mean, yes! Yes, of course I want to. But like the car. And he was like, I know,” said the Tennessee woman.

Stevens said the engagement ring still felt warm from the car fire when Hart, her now fiancé, “slipped it on her finger.” What a “hunk of burning love.”