PHILADELPHIA -- Ethan Klingenberg had every intention of staying in the background on Tuesday afternoon. His girlfriend, Genevieve Ortega-Alves, had earned every bit of the spotlight as the National League’s representative on the MLB All-Star ball crew, and Klingenberg was simply happy to walk the red carpet as her guest.
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But as the couple stepped onto the carpet ahead of baseball's biggest stars, Klingenberg decided to make their whirlwind trip to Philadelphia completely unforgettable. Standing in front of the cameras at the designated photo-op station, he reached into his pocket, dropped to one knee and proposed.
"Oh my God, yeah, I was so scared," Klingenberg laughed. "But we were all done up. Once we got in front of the photo opportunity place, I was like, 'Yeah, this is perfect.' I just thought, 'Do it now, say something cute.' I didn't want to sound too rehearsed, but I had an idea of what I was going to say, and I just went for it."
The red carpet proposal was the culmination of a 12-year love story that started long before Ortega-Alves ever put on a Padres ballgirl uniform. The two 28-year-olds are true San Diego sweethearts, having met in the hallways of Albert Einstein Middle School. They rode the bus together as close friends before officially starting their relationship in the 10th grade. Since then, they have navigated college at San Diego Mesa, started their respective careers and moved into their first apartment together in 2021.
“We were always good friends and did everything together," Klingenberg said. "And then finally, in 10th grade, she was like, 'Oh my God, just ask me out.' So I did. And you know what? We haven't looked back ever since.”
Baseball was a constant presence throughout that entire journey. With Ortega-Alves' family holding season tickets, the couple spent their early relationship attending every Padres Opening Day together. Years later, when the pandemic hit, Klingenberg moved in with Ortega-Alves and her parents, cementing their bond over the game.
"We were locked in watching every single Padres game," Klingenberg recalled. "So it was just like our love for baseball was getting deeper and deeper."
That shared passion made Ortega-Alves' selection to the All-Star ball crew incredibly personal for both of them. A lifelong Padres fan who caught her first home run ball in the Petco Park left-field seats at 7 years old, Ortega-Alves had campaigned aggressively back home to win the fan vote that secured her trip to Philadelphia.
Klingenberg had been holding onto an engagement ring for a long time, waiting for the right moment. Seeing how hard his girlfriend worked to reach the All-Star stage convinced him that the timing was perfect.
"I didn't want to take away from her moment," Klingenberg said. "But just seeing how hard she pushed to get here with the whole fan vote -- she was riding for herself so hard -- and to see her actually get enough recognition and win ... I was like, 'You know what? This is one of those few rare situations where everything has just kind of fallen into place.' It was almost cosmic."
The ring caps off a major week of celebrations for Ortega-Alves, who turned 28 on July 6. On Tuesday night, she traded her red carpet attire back for a baseball glove, taking her spot along the foul lines to work the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.
But no matter what happened on the field, the trip east already delivered a lifelong memory.
"This week has been crazy," Klingenberg said. "It's been unforgettable. So I was like, how about we make it a little more unforgettable.”