Dealing with a tragedy of losing her fiancé, a 27-year-old unnamed woman turned to Reddit for advice after his family asked her to return her engagement ring.
Posting under the AITA thread, she asked: "AITA for refusing to give my engagement ring to [my] late fiance’s brother?”
Below is a condensed version of what she wrote:
“Me and my late fiance (Alex) were together for about 12 years. We were high school sweethearts.
“We were engaged for around three years when he passed away due to an accident (in the beginning of 2020).
“I was really close with his family before everything happened. Once he died, spending time with them was only hurting me with ‘what could have been’.
“Few weeks ago, Alex’s brother (Ben) came to visit me. He is planning to propose to his girlfriend. I was very happy for him.
“The ring Alex gave me was a family ring which had been in the family for generations. Alex’s mom gave him the ring when he proposed to me as he was the eldest son.”
“I have been wearing this ring for almost three years. It’s a symbol that Alex wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.”
What ensued was her refusing to return the ring to the brother who wanted it to propose to his girlfriend.
“As I mentioned in the post, I am not saying that I will never return the ring. I am just saying I am not ready to return it now,” she concluded.
Redditors were asked for their opinion on the matter, and judging by most of the comments, some were divided.
“Both sides have reasons for wanting the ring but (I know I’ll be downvoted) I think you should give the ring back. It’s a family heirloom and they want to keep it in the family," said one comment.
Another mentioned: “I know it’s not the same, but would you be able to get a copy of the ring made?”