When you’re already comfortable dangling from the world’s most iconic skyscraper, showing up to criminal court in the same tank top and pants you wore during the stunt probably feels like just another day at the office. But that’s exactly what Angela Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov did on Thursday, July 2, after their gravity-defying proposal on the Empire State Building went viral just 24 hours earlier.

On Wednesday, July 1, the daredevil couple scaled the 1,454-foot building to unfurl a massive black-and-white banner with the message “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” Somewhere between the adrenaline and the Manhattan skyline, Kuznetsov popped the question with a sparkling oval-cut diamond ring. It was the kind of proposal that makes every other ring-in-a-box moment look positively earthbound by comparison.

Here’s where the romance meets reality: The 33-year-old Nikolau and 32-year-old Kuznetsov are now facing eight separate charges, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, possession of burglar’s tools, and disorderly conduct. After spending the night in separate holding cells, they appeared before a judge still wearing their climbing gear—a choice that somehow manages to be both defiant and oddly romantic. Their attorney, Jason Krinsky, told reporters the stunt was fundamentally “a message of love,” which is certainly one interpretation of breaking into a landmark building.

The couple’s stunt already had admirers weighing in. The official Empire State Building account chimed in with gentle shade: “Ladies: If he wanted to, he would… Just maybe on our 86th Floor Observation Deck.” Social media users were equally divided between “gurl she climbed in a full set” admiration and “you just ruined proposals for the rest of us guys” despair. Even more intriguing: Nikolau’s father told ABC News the pair actually got married before the stunt, suggesting the whole thing was a performance art piece wrapped in genuine romance.

Nikolau and Kuznetsov have reportedly been together since 2016 and starred in the 2024 documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, which gives their arrest a sort of meta quality—they’ve already documented their relationship publicly, so why not add “arraignment footage” to the résumé? Their next court date is August 24, which should give them plenty of time to strategize whether they’re going with “it was art” or “it was love.”