There are many people who have to make a decision as to what they will wear on their fingers when they are preparing for marriage. In many cases, it is the groom who makes that decision, but they often take the opinion of the bride into consideration.
That is true in the following story, but things didn’t turn out well for either the bride or the groom. She was upset because he had purchased her a diamond ring for $2400. She thought that it was not enough.
Rather than wearing the ring order figure, she said that he should’ve spent at least $20,000 audit. You can read more in this story and then determine if the right choice was made.
The diamond ring I bought for her was lab grown, $2400.
A few days after the proposal, everything seemed fine until she somehow discovered the price of the ring. She told me she felt hurt that I would spend so little on her, claiming it reflected her worth and the seriousness of our future marriage. When I asked what she had expected, she said the ring should have been at least $20,000. Granted, I sat her down and explained that, while I could certainly afford a more expensive ring, we needed to manage expectations. There’s also a wedding to plan, and we might be covering most of the costs ourselves since neither of our parents has the means to help.
I pointed out that there are smarter ways to use $20,000: paying off a car loan, putting it toward a down payment on a house, investing, or even funding her business idea—something we had talked about before. As someone who didn’t grow up with financial stability, becoming financially secure and literate is a major priority for me. But despite the conversation, she insisted she would still feel bothered if I didn’t upgrade the ring.
Gentlemen: the price of a diamond ring should never dictate the quality of your marriage. I don’t need to be married to know that. I’ve been a supportive and committed partner (otherwise, she wouldn’t have accepted my proposal). Her response shocked me, and after a lot of reflection, I ultimately decided to end our relationship. These past few days have been rough, full of emotions and reactions from loved ones and friends, but I chose to trust my gut on this one.
We clearly have different values, and I realized this isn’t the kind of marriage I want. It hurts—I won’t lie—but a price tag on a shiny mineral shouldn’t define the foundation of a partnership.
