Amputee police officer Michael “Mike” Crowe takes center stage tonight as the “mystery man” on the premiere of new ABC series The Proposal.
The show sees a group of ten singletons compete for a “mystery partner”, who then has the option of proposing marriage — before the winning contestant has to decide whether or not to say yes.
The new 10-episode series — hosted by former Bachelor star Jesse Palmer — airs after The Bachelorette. But unlike that long-running franchise, this proposal takes place at the end of just one episode, not after a long season where relationships and connections are established.
Mike, 29, reveals the basics of his identity in the first two minutes of the episode — but who is he and what’s his background? All the details about the man behind the mystery aren’t revealed until later in the episode, but we have the scoop.
Michael “Mike” Crowe is a police officer with the Bakersfield Police Department in California. But the rookie officer hadn’t even been on the job for 24 hours before he was in an accident which changed his life forever.
Mike was riding a motorcycle home from his first shift in March 2014 when he was hit by a driver who was texting at the wheel.
Mike at first thought he was fine, but his ankle had imploded upon impact and he had to have his right leg amputated from the knee down. However, the brave officer wasn’t about to let his accident get in the way of his dreams of a career in law enforcement.
Though he initially struggled with depression, after help from physical therapists and having heart-to-heart conversations with fellow amputees, Mike started going to the gym almost daily and, amazingly, returned to active duty in November 2014 — just eight months after his accident.
In August 2017, Mike competed at the World Police and Fire Olympics in Los Angeles to compete in the push pull competition comprising of dead lifting and bench pressing — where he placed fourth.
Watch his inspiring story in the video below:
The Proposal airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.