My boyfriend Mark and I have been together for 4 years, living together for 2. Our relationship is honestly great. We've talked about marriage before and both want it eventually.
Three nights ago I came home early from work and heard him talking in the bathroom. I thought he was on the phone, but when I got closer I realized he was alone, practicing what sounded like a proposal speech. He was saying things like "I've loved you since the moment…" and then he'd stop, sigh, and start over with different wording.
I felt awkward and didn't want to interrupt, so I quietly went back outside and came in loudly 10 minutes later. He acted completely normal.
Here's the thing: I checked our shared photo backup out of curiosity, and there are voice memos in there going back 6 months of him practicing different versions of proposals. Some are in the car, some in the bathroom, one is even at his mom's house. They're all slightly different but he sounds increasingly frustrated in the recent ones.
He's clearly a perfectionist and seems paralyzed by wanting everything to be perfect. I want to help ease his anxiety about this without letting on that I know or ruining whatever he has planned.
What are some ways I can create natural opportunities for him or drop hints that I'd be happy with any proposal, even a simple one, without being obvious that I discovered his practice sessions?
TL;DR: Boyfriend has been practicing proposals for 6 months and sounds stressed. How can I subtly help him feel less pressure without revealing I know?