Yesterday was February 29; a date we experience once every four years.

Now, in case you were unaware of the science behind why we have leap years, it is because the Earth actually takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun - not an even 365. So, in 1752, another day was added to February every four years to even things out.

And, over the years, it became a tradition for women to propose to men on February 29 (also known as Bachelors Day or Leap Year Day) - a tradition that some TV shows like to take full advantage of.

Last night, viewers of ITV's Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway were left "cringing" after several women in the audience got down on one knee to propose to their surprised boyfriends. One woman even proposed to her boyfriend from her living room via a video link set up in her home.

But despite the seemingly romantic gestures, love was far from in the air in the studio, as the entire segment was like watching a car crash slowly unfold on live television.

Despite some of the proposals genuinely coming across quite heartwarming, the majority of them resulted in the men looking like they were trying to locate the nearest exit.

But don't take my word for it, here are some of the best tweets from viewers who were left "cringing" at the segment:

Twitter user Georgia Bibby wrote: "I know it’s very anti feminist of me but ohhh these leap day proposals are making me CRINGE!!!"

And one viewer with the Twitter handle @xMich_LBx wrote: "All these women proposing on #SaturdayNightTakeaway are bloody embarrassing. Anyone who proposes in front of an audience, man or woman, [makes] me cringe".

One viewer, Oliver Portman, tweeted: "This whole leap year proposal thing on Saturday night takeaway is top tier cringe..."

And this isn't the only time a man has been looking like they wanted the ground to open up and swallow them whole, check out this guy who suffered a similar fate:

So, what's your opinion on public proposals? Let us know in the comments section...