Losing a person you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with is always hard. And so, you want to keep mementos from your life together. But sometimes other people make this already hard time even harder. Especially if they want to take something you value from the person you lost.
Reddit user u/369deteted879 found themselves in such a situation. And they went to the r/AmItheAsshole community to ask if their behavior was warranted.
More info: Reddit
How do you deal with someone who wants to take away a memento from your loved one?
Image credits: Anna Pou (not the actual photo)
This woman's late fiancé's family demanded she give them her ring because it’s their family heirloom, but the woman saw the ring being bought for her
Image credits: Michael Jin (not the actual photo)
Image credits: PhotoMIX-Company (not the actual photo)
His family continued to harass the woman for the ring even after she won a court case by providing proof it was bought for her
Image credits: David Veksler (not the actual photo)
Image credits: 369deteted879
After even her friends declared she was a jerk, the woman started doubting her decision not to give up the ring
4 years ago, the woman got engaged to her boyfriend of 4 years, who in the post she calls John. Funnily, the ring he proposed to her with was 2 sizes too big. So, together, they went to the original store and got the same style ring in the right size. This store designed rings based on movies. It was a ring based on Lord Of The Rings because the couple met at an event related to this series. Every design has a few different sizes. And so, when they went to the store to change the ring size, they only swapped the size, not the style.
Unfortunately, 10 months after the proposal, John died. The money saved for the wedding went to pay for his funeral. His parents reached out to her saying they could not afford the funeral. And so, she decided to use the wedding fund. After all, it was not going to be used for its primary purpose.
The day after the funeral, John’s brother asked the OP for the ring. He claimed that it had been passed down through their family for 5 generations. The woman immediately called out the lies. After all, she has proof the ring was bought for her less than a year ago.
Soon after, the woman started getting calls from her late fiance's family demanding she give them the ring. She even got a letter from their lawyer in which it was demanded that she would reimburse the family for the funeral. But she paid for it herself!
She got herself a lawyer with whom she went to court to defend her honor. In court, the woman showed proof of the ring's purchase and her paying for the funeral And, of course, she won. The judge awarded her to be reimbursed for funeral costs, legal fees, and even emotional distress.
However, the late fiance’s family did not leave her alone. His sister messaged her that she and her boyfriend were engaged. But they didn’t have a ring yet, and she wanted John’s ring. The OP once again refused to give that family the ring. That made the sister go nuts and spam the woman with messages. Eventually, the OP had her blocked, but that didn’t stop her. She found new ways to harass her over messages.
One day the OP was having brunch with her friend and a message from John’s sister popped up on her phone. Since the phone was on the table, the friend saw the message. The friend was aware of everything that happened before the messages. After the woman explained about the messages, the friend made her judgment. She decided that the woman was the jerk! According to her, she should just give John’s sister the ring.
This friend informed the woman's other friends about the situation. They made the same judgment. They think that the sister provided valid reasons why she should have a ring. They also believe that the ring should be put to use. In her friends’ eyes, the OP was a selfish jerk.
That made the OP doubt herself. Maybe she should give up the ring? So, she turned to Reddit to find out what folks online think.
Image credits: TranStudios Photography & Video (not the actual photo)
The family in the story tried to scam out the ring of the woman by lying that it’s a family heirloom, even though just simple common sense would suggest that the ring might be very important to her. It was given to her by a person who she loved so much that she was ready to marry him! Keeping the ring after his death can be at least some kind of emotional support.
And while we cannot measure which ring has been the most valued emotionally in the world, we can see which rings were the most expensive.
The most expensive engagement ring ever belonged to Hollywood actress Grace Kelly. When in 1956, she got engaged to Prince Rainier III of Monaco, her engagement ring was priced at $4,060,000. With today’s monetary value, it would be around $44.3 million.
The ring was a 10.47-carat, emerald-cut diamond. It was designed by Cartier. To highlight the ring's originality, the jewelers created a platinum mount with a baguette-cut diamond on each side of the main, central stone.
The second place is taken by the ring used for Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ engagement to Aristotle Onassis. The ring was of a Harry Winston design known as Lesotho III - 40.42-carat emerald cut white diamond.
After Jackie’s death, the ring was sold at an auction in 1996 for $2,600,000. With today’s money’s value, it would be worth around $20 million.
The last place in the top 3 of the most expensive engagement rings goes to Mariah Carey’s ring. It was a 35-carat emerald cut white diamond given to her by her ex-fiancé James Packer. Reportedly, it cost $10 million. The singer loved the ring so much that she wore it even after the breakup. Well, until she sold it back in 2018.
While it's fun to read about expensive engagement rings, we know that the true worth of the engagement ring is not in its price. It’s in what emotions it holds. So, if the woman from the Reddit post feels like keeping her engagement ring as a memento from her happy times with her late fiancé, she should be able to. The ring was bought precisely for her, so she doesn’t have to give it back to her family - it never belonged to them.
The people online are of the same opinion. Nearly all of them agree that the woman shouldn’t give the ring to the family, especially not after they lied and harassed her. Some even suggested that she should get a lawyer to defend herself from them or even get a restraining order.
Folks online decided that his family members are massive jerks and should not be able to even get near the woman
