Olivia Walsh had no clue when she posed with her boyfriend, Gavin Hulberg, at the Georgia Aquarium’s beluga whale exhibit that she would be part of one of the internet’s most wonderful viral moments.

Gavin and the aquarium staff worked together to prepare the perfect surprise proposal in front of the whale tank. What neither he nor Olivia could have anticipated was the reaction of Qinu, a 16-year-old beluga whale who seemed similarly astonished.

As Gavin got down on one knee, Qinu appeared, her jaw falling in apparent amazement. Olivia’s perfectly timed reaction was recorded on film, which she subsequently posted to TikTok with the description, “The most perfect proposal I could’ve asked for.” The video has since received more than 7 million views and several comments.

“Even the Beluga Was Shocked!”

The video has triggered a wave of delight and amusement on social media, with viewers projecting their own fun ideas onto Qinu’s reaction.

“The beluga needs to officiate the wedding right now,” u/isa joked.

The official Play-Doh account remarked, “Beluga has to be invited to the wedding.”

As u/Bob put it, “Even the beluga was shocked 😭.”

@withlovebyliv I’ve been interning with the beluga training team for the last 3 months so this was the most thoughtful way he could’ve done it 🥺 #georgiaaquarium #belugawhale #proposal ♬ original sound – withloveliv

Other people responded with their interpretations of Qinu’s reaction:

“The beluga was like, ‘OH MY GAWWDDD.'” I wrote you/Els.

u/Citali humorously added, “The beluga: O.”

A natural reaction.

According to People, where the event was initially published, Qinu’s reaction was completely unexpected. Katie Lorenz, associate curator of mammals and birds at the Georgia Aquarium, confirmed: “Qinu’s behavior at the window was her own—she was not intentionally trained to have any type of ‘reaction.'”

Olivia, who has been a beluga whale training intern for three months, was overjoyed when she received the proposal. In a TikTok comment, she said, “My fiancé is the most considerate guy!! He understands how much I’ve enjoyed working with the whales and has truly made it the most memorable event.”