The internet is filled with videos and photos of Ivan and Angela, who were spotted at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City. The former even proposed to the latter on top, after which they were arrested by the authorities and later charged them with reckless endangerment, felony burglary, and criminal mischief as well as criminal trespass. And amid all the chatter, here’a all you need to know about the couple.
About The Viral Empire State Building Couple
Angela and Ivan are originally from Russia but have been living in New Jersey, and are in fact popular rooftoppers. For the unversed, rooftoppers are people who engage in scaling restricted areas like skyscrapers, bridges, etc. to perform hanging, balancing, or just jumping from extreme heights. Ivan and Angela were also featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary called Skywalkers: A Love Story, which was about their romance and quest for fame and thrill. They have previously climbed the 1,957-foot Goldin Finance 117, China’s tallest incomplete skyscraper, and Merdeka 118 in Malaysia, the second-tallest building in the world at 2,227 feet.
BREAKING: The two people who scaled the Empire State Building with a marriage proposal banner have been ARRESTED and transferred out of Midtown South Precinct with charges.
Arrested:
Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, NJ
Angelina Nikolau, 33, NJ
Charges for both:
Burglary, Reckless… pic.twitter.com/rid2bh9QDn
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) July 1, 2026
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Angela and Ivan met in 2016 and since then have been rooftopping. The documentary suggested that Angela was the lesser experienced and even looked up to Ivan, seeking his tricks to clim. The duo also opened up about the risks behind this activity and said that they had been arrested before as well. Angela spoke about how instead of following the rules like others, they moved the system and remember who they truly are because it’s the height. Apart from rooftopping, Ivan also has a music career while Angela is a painter with a background in dance and acrobatics.
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