30 years on and my wedding band is never coming off—how about yours?

[Pauline2026]

I often wonder who still wears their wedding ring permanently after many years of marriage.
My mum is 72, and she has never taken off her cigar wedding band since the day my dad slipped it onto her finger 48 years ago. It always fascinated me, and I knew I wanted the exact same style to wear continuously from my wedding day onwards. So, we ordered a matching set: a wide, chunky, plain 9mm band for me, and a thin, simple one for my husband. I have worn mine ever since—for nearly 30 years now.
Because I have rather prominent knuckles and slender fingers, I remember my husband had quite a struggle getting it on during the ceremony. Later, after my first pregnancy, I put on a bit of weight and couldn't have removed it even if I’d wanted to. Now, it simply feels like a part of me. It won't come off at all anymore, as my knuckles have grown larger over time, yet I still adore it.
I’d love to hear your ring stories. Do you still wear yours, and what about your husbands?

That’s really dangerous, your knuckles haven’t grown, I would guess you gained some weight, my rings also became too tight when I gained and I took a lot of effort to get them off one morning with oils, and I kept them off till I lost the weight,

your fingers can swell for many reasons, for me I got bit my a spider, when I slept and my hand resembled a glove thay had been blown up,

i would recommend having a jeweller cut them off and then make them bigger on repair. They are not part of yoh and it is not romantic to have a ring you can’t get off,

I don’t wear mine daily anymore. I will if we are out but day to day and work, no.

Mine progressed to fitting quite snugly after about 25 years and one day I woke up and it just felt so tight and uncomfortable (it was a really hot day) and I just couldn't get it off. We tried various tricks we found online but nothing was shifting it and obviously after a while it starts to get worse from the chafing and we just had to give up. We were on holiday at the time but found a jeweller who cut it off. On their advice I kept all three rings from that finger (it was only wedding ring that had got stuck) off my hand for three months until my finger had settled, then went and had my finger re-measured and all of them resized. They came back professionally cleaned and much better fitting. I would do it again in future if needs be.

Edited to add: I've been told that paramedics and other medical professionals who cut rings in emergencies do not do as good a job (understandably it isn't their priority) so the pre-emptive strike of having it removed by a jeweller seems a better option

I wore mine for about 55 years, though resized once. However, I had to take it off about three years ago as the band had got so thin, I was scared it would snap. I have not got round to seeing if anything can be done to restore it.
We will have been married for 59 years in Jan.

I have never taken my wedding band off since my husband put it on my finger 8 years ago, it is a thin plain platinum band. My dad has never taken his off since he married my mum 42 years ago! And my husband has only ever removed his once, for resizing shortly after we got married.

Been married for over 30 years and haven’t worn mine for most of it. Had a job for most of it where, while I was able to wear a plain wedding band (unlike an engagement ring), I had to wash my hands constantly and would get dermatitis under it, but nowhere else on hands, so was just easier to take it off. Couldn’t be bothered with a take off for work, put on for home approach as I figured it was the easiest way to misplace it, so it’s been in a drawer. Don’t have that job anymore but don’t fancy the chance of dermatitis if I wash up, wash hands after bathroom so in the drawer it stays.

Married 24 years.

Haven't worn my ring for about 20 years, and neither has DH!

It started slipping off, as did DH’s, and we put them in a box and said ‘we must get around to getting them adjusted’…but never did.

I eventually admitted to DH I’m just not a ‘ring’ person - I’d never worn rings and found it annoying and uncomfortable. Turns out he felt the same.

We are clearly meant to be together 🤣

They were expensive platinum and gold rings from Hatton Gardens, though, so we are thinking of turning them into some other sort of keepsake for our 25th wedding anniversary next year.

Wore mine, got pregnant, my fingers swelled up and I couldn't take it off. During COVID we were all bored at home, I thought I'd try and wriggle it off and was successful. I kept meaning to resize it, and my engagement ring, and DHs wedding ring that was weirdly too big.

Then we were burgled and they were all stolen.

I've replaced my wedding band with a thin silver ring, as my finger felt naked. I've worn a silver ring of my dad's on my right middle finger since I was 16 (I'm now in my 50s), so I like wearing them both.

I've worn mine for over 28 years. It occasionally slides off my finger if my hands are cold and I'm not wearing my engagement ring, so now I take it off to go swimming as I don't want to lose it.

My fingers are too fat for mine now!

I’ve lost a very significant amount of weight so my wedding and enhancement rings no longer fit and have been relegated to a drawer until I a) am at my target weight and b) decide whether to resize or completely redesign them.

Currently wearing my husband’s late grandmother’s wedding and engagement rings which I inherited (from MIL) and love and am considering keeping those there long term.

I like wearing a wedding ring. I’m not a huge jewellery person so typically just wear wedding and engagement rings and no others.

I tripped over my dogs and broke my wrist. Nurse at hospital couldn’t get my ring off so husband did in with bolt cropper type tool. Made me cry. Had to get new one and that’s been on since, 41 years in total

I can’t get my wedding ring off yet when I needed emergency surgery earlier this year it was returned to me intact in a little plastic bag. No idea how they removed it.

My wedding & engagement rings are just too loose on me since I lost weight so I don’t often wear them now. I tried a couple of things to help them fit, but found them uncomfortable.

My husband has always worn his wedding ring around his neck, along with his favourite cross.

We both have taken ours off due to swollen fingers and irritation and now that we're in our late 70s I think it hardly matters tbh

I wear my wedding ring all the time, I can't wear my engagement ring at work but put it on as soon as I get home. I take them both off at night so they both come off easily. My wedding band is just a plain 18 carat band and my engagement ring is a trilogy.
DH wears his celtic style wedding ring all time, it probably would come off, but it would be tight.
24 years just gone at the end of August.

I took my mum's off after sixty years of marriage and never having been taken off, after she passed away.

I intended to keep mine on and never remove - went to the loo at our wedding reception and took it off to wash my hands, without thinking 🤦🏻‍♀️ I had been used to taking my engagement ring off so I didn't get soap in the setting.

Married nearly 40 years and never took my ring off. Recently l was having an MRI and they said no rings. The night before l tried to get it off and it was an ordeal.. Had to look online for ideas and eventually it came off but l was in a panic. Haven't put it back on since as l get claustrophobic knowing it could be stuck. No more rings for me.

I’ve been wearing mine since 2003. I can get it off (just checked) but have never needed to take it off. It’s the only jewellery I ever wear as jewellery in general feels irritating to me and there are quite a lot of metals my skin doesn’t like.

H wore his for the first few years but then his skin started to react to it so he rarely wears it now. I suggested we buy a different one in a different material but he says no because it doesn’t feel right because he wants the one I gave him on the day. To which I obviously asked ‘what is the point if you can’t wear it?’ He is a stubborn git so I assume he is just not going to be wearing a wedding ring ever again 🙄

I have to take mine off every night as I have contact dermatitis on my hands and when I wash them I have to be very careful to dry under the rings or my eczema flares up. It’s a pest and often at the weekend I don’t wear them at all. At least it’ll mean they need less maintenance! (White gold so need replating every 12-18 months)

Those of you who can’t get your rings off, aren’t you worried about needing an MRI? I had one this summer, and the clinic was adamant that all metal jewellery, piercings etc had to be removed in advance of the appointment, and that they would not be able to remove them on the day, so you’d just lose your appointment.

My rings (neither of them wedding rings) are fine, but I needed DH’s help to snip off a tiny stud earring whose back had stiffened into place.

When I split from exh i struggled to get my ring off. When I remarried i had a fancier ring so do take it off, plus I now do food service and don’t like plastic gloves so no jewellery is required.

I got married to my second DH 39 years ago and I've never taken my ring off, even though he has been dead now for the last 21 years.
It's not tight on my finger but it won't go over my knuckle so would need to be cut off if I ever decided I didn't want to wear it. But I wouldn't want ever not to wear it.

I still have my wedding ring from my first marriage. It's absolutely tiny and I marvel that I was ever able to get it on my finger.

I never take mine off, it’s a plain gold band bought for £99 about 20 years ago (been together 28) and looks the same as it did on the wedding. I wear it to wash, clean with bleach everything. I don’t need to take it off however my engagement runs has been on and off many times as it has a stone in it so I would take it off for certain things. I haven’t worn it for years now because it’s too big as I’ve lost some weight but my wedding ring is the exact right size so no idea what happened there as on my wedding day I was the size I am now

Never wear mine but I wear my mother's sometimes.