The photo was widely shared on the Internet — and used by media outlets, including the Globe on Instagram. But there was no ring, and there isn’t going to be any wedding. The engagement was nothing more than a “brief demonstration of values and activism” to call out Cruz’s “hypocritical stance on marriage,” according to Peach. “It’s way more ethical to have two people of the same gender get married than have two college sophomores tie the knot,” said Peach.

(Uhhhhhhh … okay, I am aware of our increasingly charged political climate, so at this time I would like to take a beat and allow you make your own call on whether this was funny, because I’m genuinely afraid of what my Twitter mentions will look like if I weigh in.)

Peach and Jurskis, who are in reality just good friends, told The Washington Post that the whole thing started with a candidate selfie contest; everyone in their group was clamoring to get the best pic. Peach thought of the “engagement” idea and ran it by Jurskis, who was down.

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The more Peach considered it, she said, the more she liked the stunt. Even putting the selfie aside, she said, it was a way to make a statement about Cruz’s stance on marriage — the idea, Peach wrote in a Facebook message, that “gay people shouldn’t be able to get married, but two crazy, spur of the moment, barely legal fanatics absolutely should.”

In the end, Peach said, it also ended up being a “critique on media pandering” and a chance for the students to explore political satire.

“When people know that it was more of a stunt, then they can kind of have more of a perspective of satire on it, more of a critical perspective of why we did it, what we did, and it might actually start a conversation,” Peach said.

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Anyway, back to the fake-gagement. After forming the plan, Jurskis said he touched base with Cruz, telling the candidate that he wanted to propose at the rally. Cruz was on board, and, well, you know what happened next.

“He gave us the biggest hug I think I have ever received in my entire life,” Jurskis told the Boston Globe.

(Alright, yes, I realize this is the second time I’ve interrupted you, but really, how do we all feel about this? Is this a *good* prank? Because I feel like if you want to stage a funny and/or ridiculous stunt, you should pick one that doesn’t require a lengthy visit to Explain-A-Joke Land later, right? But what do I know! It’s not like I’m the laughs police.)

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In case you were wondering, both Jurskis and Peach have spoken about the fake-gagement with their parents, who were very supportive of the whole bit. This is a thing I asked, because dang, y’all, my mom would destroy me if I’d done the same thing.

Jurskis told Boston.com that Cruz was “the nicest guy” after the fake engagement. Jurskis noted that he did feel “kind of bad.”

“Part of me feels bad for Ted Cruz when he finds out because he was so excited,” Peach told Boston.com. “But then I remember his policies.”