Daredevils arrested after scaling Empire State Building in wild NYC engagement stunt finally get ring back

Daredevils arrested after scaling Empire State Building in wild NYC engagement stunt finally get ring back

The daredevil darlings who landed in cuffs after scaling the Empire State Building in a wildly viral engagement stunt earlier this month finally got their ring back – and gave Manhattan prosecutors a shout-out for their help.

Exhibitionist pair Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, were granted supervised release in Manhattan court just a day after they climbed the spire of the towering landmark, but claimed the flashy ring was still stowed away in a police station.

In an Instagram post Monday, Nikolau – who describes herself as a “neoartist exploring identity, fear & freedom” – posted photos of their reclaimed rock in an array that also included snaps from the foolish July 1 feat. 

An overjoyed Angela Nikolau posted photos of the couple’s reclaimed ring on Instagram Monday. Instagram/angela_nikolau

“We got the ring back! 🖤” Nikolau crowed. “Huge thanks to the prosecutor! We also got back everything you see in the photo, along with our bank cards and passports. I just noticed the engraving on the ring today: ‘Your full potential is on the other side of fear.’”

The banner the lovebirds unfurled more than 1,000 feet in the air – at the iconic building’s spire – struck a similarly motivational tone.

“When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” it said. 

The ring was engraved with the message, “Your full potential is on the other side of fear,” Nikolau said. Instagram/angela_nikolau

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Nikolau’s message of thanks.

While all seemed rosy for the newly-engaged couple, they are set to appear again in court on August 24, prosecutors said.

They also could be staring down a sentence of up to seven years in prison if convicted of the charges – which include felonies: burglary, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, officials have said. 

The couple, of East Orange, New Jersey, breached a mesh gate on the 102nd floor of the building — the highest publicly accessible story — to reach the 103rd floor, which is exclusively used for maintenance, a source previously told The Post. 

The couple ascended to the spire of the landmarked building, more than 1,000 feet above ground. Matthew McDermott for NY Post

Jaw-dropping POV-style footage of the pair’s vantage from the top of the Empire State Building was posted on Nikolau’s Instagram page.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the cops who arrested the climbers, as she posted the footage of their arrest on social media.

 “A glimpse into the work of our Emergency Services Unit,” she wrote. “God bless these officers.”

Kuznetsov, 32, got down on one knee and presented Nikolau, 33, with the ring in an extremely public display of affection. Instagram/@angela_nikolau
The exhibitionist couple was granted supervised release by a judge and will reappear in court late last month. Steven Hirsch for NY Post

But the couple’s defense attorney, Jason Krinsky, argued prosecutors overcharged and contended there was no evidence of burglary tools.

“Even the building’s own people, the Empire State’s own people, said there was no risk to tenants, guests on the observation deck or anyone in the building,” the lawyer claimed following their arraignment. “It was a message of love,” he said. “She didn’t say ‘no.’ So you gotta give him that.”

Nikolau and Kuznetsov were the subjects of a 2024 Netflix documentary, “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year.

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