Angie Harmon Had The Most Memorable Appearance On Jay Leno's Tonight Show

For movie and television stars, appearing on late-night TV comes with the territory. Indeed, for many, it's one of the perks. Having a funny, wholehearted chat with the likes of David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, or Jimmy Kimmel sounds like a nice way to spend one's time. This isn't always the case, as the infamously barbed 1988 exchange between David Letterman and Shirley MacLaine amply shows (via YouTube). But, for the most part, at least as far as the audience can tell, the interactions are good-natured and fun.

Then there are the appearances that aren't just fun, but downright magical. Angie Harmon had one of those. In 2000, during her tenure as Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael on "Law & Order," Harmon appeared on "The Tonight Show." Her segment started out like any other, with the guest getting settled and Jay Leno helping set the tone for the conversation, albeit while Harmon sat next to — of all people — Elton John.

Then the conversation turned to dating, which seemed to make Harmon nervous. Harmon replied, "I don't talk about my personal life, no ... but yes, I am dating." Leno pushed the topic, referring to someone backstage who had come with her, asking an increasingly confused Harmon whether he would come out.

"His name is Jason Sehorn, he plays for the New York Giants," said Jay Leno. "Jason, are you there?" Sure enough, Jason Sehorn, then-cornerback for the New York Giants and Harmon's boyfriend at the time, walked onstage. Harmon, being a good sport and letting the moment take her, laughed and clapped along with the audience, though she was still quite confused. "Hi, what are you doing?" she asked.

A smiling Sehorn wasted no time, exchanged a few pleasantries, then walked up to Harmon and took a knee, asking "Will you marry me?" The cameras jolted to get a good shot, cries of surprise rose from the audience, and an absolutely shocked Harmon put her hands to her mouth. Other than a few stunned words, she seemed to be left speechless as he put the ring on her finger. Never one to let an opportunity for a joke pass him by, an apparently impressed Leno chimed in. "Look at that ring," he said. "Even Elton is jealous!"

"And?" asked an impatient Sehorn. Harmon said yes, they embraced, and the audience applauded. The surprises did not, however, stop there.

As everyone cheered and applauded, Jay Leno seemed to have another matter on his mind. "Hang on!" he kept insisting, trying to calm the elated audience and guests. "Aren't you supposed to ask the father's permission?" Sehorn replied, "Yeah, that's the protocol." Perhaps it's a bit old-fashioned, but when Angie's father Larry Harmon walked onstage, she was, again, flabbergasted. Larry hugged his daughter, shook hands with his future son-in-law, and, when Leno asked if they had his blessing, replied simply, "Absolutely."

"We have a love connection, ladies and gentlemen," announced Leno. As they cut to commercial, he then turned to hug Harmon, jokingly asking "Aw, you're not mad at me are you?" Stunned? Speechless? Overcome with joy? All of the above could describe Angie Harmon at that moment. Mad could not.

As every hopeless romantic out there will tell you, there's an infinite amount of memorable ways to propose to one's partner. Still, we have to hand it to Sehorn. Proposing to Harmon on one of the most watched late-night talk shows, sitting right to the side of the host – with Elton John witnessing no less — is pretty clutch. Harmon and Sehorn were married in 2001 and had three daughters before amicably splitting in 2014 (via People).