Woman wore late fiancé's ring on her hand for over a decade — until she got a phone call from his mother that left her stunned
Sometimes the things we carry aren’t just objects, they’re chapters of our lives we’re not ready to close. Rings, photos, sweaters, etc, grief often stays for a long time in ways people don’t realise. And as a Reddit post shared by u/RingaRingaRosies reminds us, love doesn’t vanish just because life moves forward.
This post reveals the emotional dilemma the individual faced after losing her fiancé in a car crash more than a decade ago. She survived the accident with minor injuries but he did not. It wasn’t easy for her to go back to normal. What followed were years of therapy, support groups and slowly figuring out how to exist again. Somewhere along the way, she found companionship with someone who understood her pain, a widower she met through grief support.
Over time, their friendship turned into love and they eventually moved in together. Even as her life moved forward, she stayed close to her late fiancé’s family. They had supported her in the worst stretch of her life. But recently, things got bad when his late fiancée’s mother called and asked for the engagement ring back. The ring wasn’t a family heirloom, nor was it passed down through generations. The ring was a garnet and emerald ring that the couple had chosen together. It represented their birthstones and the life they had planned. The beautiful thing was that the fiancée had saved for months to buy it.
To her, it wasn’t just a piece of jewelry like any other. It was a memory that she wore on her right hand, much like her partner wore his late wife’s wedding band. Both of them respected each other's past and never felt any sort of insecurity. They even keep photos of their late partners displayed at home. Still, his mother insisted the ring “belonged back in the family.” Eventually, emotions overwhelmed the phone conversation, and the woman hung up, unsure how to feel or respond, grieving again, but this time in a different way. She is not sure what to do and asked fellow Reddit users to share their thoughts.
People, however, did not doubt their strong opinions. With empathy and clarity, many reminded her that grief doesn’t cancel love and moving forward doesn’t erase the past. u/blessedrude wrote, “The family that ring belongs in is the family that the two of you were starting together.” u/dbanks02 spoke directly about boundaries, “It is your ring—full stop. She does not have dibs on it even a little bit. I agree with ceasing communication.” Others said it's a way to disagree with finding new love. u/Realistic_Bit6965 said, “The timing seems like it's a ‘If you're moving on, you don't deserve anything of my son's’ kind of reaction. It's a punishment.”
Her story struck a chord because it wasn’t simply about a ring. It was about grief, healing and being happy again without leaving the past behind. And sometimes, the most powerful act is choosing to honor the past along with living in the present and moving ahead in life.
AITA for wanting to keep my engagement ring from my late fiancé?
byu/RingaRingaRosies inAmItheAsshole