Is This Failed Promposal a Total Cringe, or an Elaborate Fake?

Something just seems a little off about this failed prom propsal, as the keen observers at Uproxx pointed out. How could this kid have not known if she already had a date, especially if there was going to be a gigantic show of it? Here's some choice quotes in an interview the guy had with the Daily Mail:

‘I spent a bit of time planning the proposal, I really thought she was going to be the one.

‘Apparently she already had a date and I had no idea.

‘At the time I felt pure embarrassment. You can’t even put it into words. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I was just rejected in front of 2,000 people.'