Woman Refuses to Return ‘Mother’s Ring’ Gifted by Husband amid Divorce Even Though She Has No Plans to Wear It Again

A woman says she’s torn over whether she’s doing something wrong by refusing to hand back a ring her husband gave her as they head toward divorce.

In a post on Reddit’s “Am I the A——” forum, she explained that her second husband gifted her a “mother’s ring” set with birthstones representing her, him, and her two daughters. She shares her children with her first husband.

While she doesn’t plan to wear the ring again, she said she’d like to reuse parts of it—specifically by removing the stones (except for his) and turning them into a necklace.

“I really just don’t want to give it back and being petty, give in to his request,” she wrote, adding that her husband hasn’t explained why he wants it returned. She also noted that she already gave back his family rings, including the engagement and wedding rings.

She said her husband is now asking her to return “all the jewelry that he gave me,” and she’s questioning whether keeping anything beyond the family rings makes her the bad guy.

In the comments, many readers sided with her and emphasized a straightforward point: gifts are gifts. Several also applauded her for returning the engagement and wedding rings at all, saying she wasn’t obligated to return other items and that her response didn’t sound petty.

One commenter argued that because the ring was given as a gift, it’s hers—meaning he has no claim to it and no real basis to demand it back.

Another echoed the same idea, saying his reasons for wanting it back don’t change the nature of the gift and don’t give him a moral right to reclaim it.

Some people offered a middle-ground suggestion: since the ring included a stone representing him, he could reasonably ask for that one stone back—but not the entire piece—especially because the ring also symbolizes her relationship with her daughters.

One user summed it up bluntly: it wasn’t an heirloom, it was a gift, and asking for it back now is simply in poor taste.