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Divorce/separation

Here you'll find divorce help and support from other Mners. For legal advice, you may find Advice Now guides useful.

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Original poster

What did you do with your engagement/wedding rings?

72 replies

bitterexwife · 17/12/2025 18:20

I still wear my wedding ring as it’s just a plain band, so I wear it on my right hand. My engagement ring though I think is very obviously an engagement ring, and I don’t know what to do with it!

No daughters to pass it onto, can’t afford to donate it, don’t want to sell it.
Worried about turning it into a necklace incase chain snaps and I lose it. Also concerned about it sitting in my jewellery box incase I ever get burgled!

it’s just a single princess cut diamond on plain platinum band.

OP posts:

Sweetiedarling7 · 18/12/2025 09:21

Sold them to pay for part of the legal bills.

Westfacing · 18/12/2025 09:28

I sold them a couple of years ago - about 18 years after divorce. I didn't keep them so long for any reason other than they were just there in the drawer!

I sold a few other bits e.g. a gold bracelet at the same time, to a long-established jeweller, and just spent the money.

Westfacing · 18/12/2025 09:32

calminggreen · 18/12/2025 08:35

I don’t get why you would keep them and pass them down - I’d consider them bad luck TBH and sell them. Why would your kids want a reminder of their parents failed marriage

I thought that when Prince William gave Catherine Diana's engagement ring - that marriage brought so much unhappiness to Diana!

Bumply · 18/12/2025 09:50

I wear my engagement ring on a necklace chain, although it was a family heirloom from my side of the family (grandmother’s handed down to youngest daughter and then me as youngest daughter).

I almost never take it off and chain has only broken once (and been replaced) and didn’t lose the ring.

My youngest son will inherit it as I have no daughters.

cockandbullstories · 18/12/2025 10:02

If it's a decent sized diamond get it made into a pendant or restyled. You don't get much for secondhand - if you want to sell do it through E bay. This was advice given to me by a jeweller.

IsThisLifeNow · 18/12/2025 10:57

I'm very torn over my wedding ring. It was my grandmother's, I didn't really know her as she died when I was very young, but it makes me feel close to my family. It currently in my special things box, but I might get it refashioned into a less wedding band looking ring in the future. I don't care too much for my engagement ring, it probably wouldn't sell for much, so it's currently sitting in a different box gathering dust

SleighAllDay · 18/12/2025 10:58

I found out mine were fake 🤣

Nottodaty · 18/12/2025 11:05

I’m the eldest of 3, my parents divorced when I was around 20. I was given all 3 (wedding rings and mums engagement ring)

I asked my siblings I could get something small made for each of us from them. They both said no - so for 27 years they’ve just sat in a box. No idea what I should do with them. They mention them at times but just want me to hold onto them …no idea why!!

SparkleSpriteDust · 18/12/2025 11:10

I actually still wear my eternity ring on my right hand because it's very pretty. It sits between my mums wedding band and a couple of other very thin bands I inherited from a great aunt. It was given to my after we had our 2 children so to me, it represents them. Without my exH, I wouldn't have them, after all.

I have 2 sons but I will keep my engagement ring for them to do with as they wish. It was given to my exH by his mum for me and is very pretty and sentimental. I offered it back to her when we split up but she said it was always mine to keep.

I will just keep them all.

thornbury · 18/12/2025 11:17

Sold them, total about £300. I'd have taken £3 tbh.

blobby10 · 18/12/2025 11:40

Still got mine plus an eternity ring (ha ha!) designed around my engagement ring exDH gave me for my 40th. Would happily sell wedding ring for cash but I do think the engagement and eternity rings are pretty so who knows. Haven't worn them for 10 years and they don't fit anyway.

YourOnMute · 18/12/2025 11:50

My ex took them, along with a few other gold rings I had. I paid for the wedding rings. He paid for the engagement ring, lab diamonds but gold. I presume he sold them.
Obviously I can't prove this but apparently he drove past my house and begged one of the kids for a key as he had to go to the toilet. I suspect he took them as he also took photos of meds I was taking (to use against me) and our wedding, birth certs disappeared too (he had asked for these and I said you can order them online).
What a man.

MissmyoldLab · 18/12/2025 22:01

Funnily enough I've been thinking about this recently. My ER cost £1k back in 1996 and WR about £240. I was told by jeweller valuations are generally just for house insurance purposes and cost about £100 per item to get done. This doesn't reflect the price to sell though, which is much lower than valuation. Was quoted £235 for WR and £285 for ER via a pawnbroker (get more if pawning than selling which is odd) so £520 total. Was considering selling and putting in stocks and shares ISA but something is holding me back...think I'll give it 6 months till situation settles and revisit.

ThatAquaRobin · 19/12/2025 06:43

Sold them both and repurposed the money for other things.
The divorce was not my choice.
I wanted no reminder of my marriage and it seemed wrong for my daughter to have them or my wedding dress (all tainted now IMHO)
I found it empowering to get rid of it all. The only thing I've kept it the wedding photo album which is in the loft. Everything else is gone.

dontwanttostay · 19/12/2025 14:32

Not a problem I have - never received an engagement ring (or proposal for a fact) and we got married at a court house without wedding rings 🙃I know that the value of the marriage is not reflected in the value of a wedding or rings, but the value my STBX placed on our marriage was exactly 0.

I have bought myself a collection of beautiful jewellery over the years, which funny enough, now form a part of the pot that needs to be split 😅

Shittyyear2025 · 19/12/2025 14:44

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

EgregiouslyOverdressed · 19/12/2025 17:30

I wear my eternity ring on my right hand. It was a gift when I had DC1 and I take the view that it commemorates my becoming a mother, distinct from my marriage.

My engagement ring is a very pretty antique. It had a life before my marriage and it should have a life after it, too. I’m not superstitious and I don’t think my marriage failed because I had a bad luck diamond 🙄. I’ll have it resized and give to DD on her 21st birthday. I’ll also offer her the platinum to have remade into something else when she’s older.

By all means have them appraised to sell but be warned that the depreciation on engagement rings is spectacular and you won’t get much unless yours has a particularly large or good-quality stone. Gold and platinum prices are high right now so that might help a little.

Cadenza12 · 19/12/2025 17:32

eBay. I didn't even need the money.

GoldenGirl1234 · 10/04/2026 18:47

I love reading what everyone did with their wedding ring after divorce. I ended up selling mine and got totally ripped off. But it just didn't mean anything to me anymore, and I figured I may as well get something from the situation. In the end, I got probably 20% of what my ex paid for it. I wish I had known how little diamonds are valued at resale and focused instead on the metal content. Oh, well, live and learn.

HyacinthsAndPeonies · 10/04/2026 19:02

I didn't wear my rings for years, as our marriage was so bad. He was selfish and abusive. I'm widowed now and my WR, ER and eternity ring are sitting in my jewellery box. I bought both the engagement ring and eternity ring myself, with the promise from late H that he'd pay me back. He never did. That should have been a huge red flag to never get married, but I stupidly did. At least I got two lovely DC from the union (and life insurance that paid off the mortgage and I also got the money he'd inherited from his parents, so not all bad!)

Maybe I'll get the rings repurposed one day, as I doubt they'll fetch much if I sold them.

Notmycircusnotmyotter · 10/04/2026 19:04

I kept my engagement ring. Never married (Covid). I'll give it to our daughter when she's much older.

Gentlydoesit2 · 10/04/2026 19:05

You don't have to do anything until you're ready. Poor then in a safe of you're worried about being burgled.
I sold mine and don't regret it but take your time on a decision

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