Her mother-in-law gave her an heirloom engagement ring - but it concealed an embarrassing secret
In a viral post on Reddit, a woman has described her bizarre experience of being given a family ring by her future mother-in-law.
“There’s something intrinsically magical about an heirloom engagement ring,” says the century-old wedding magazine Brides: “From its one-of-a-kind appearance to its rich history to its sentimental value.”
Writing on Reddit, a new bride-to-be says she was touched by that very magic - only for it to be comprehensively dispelled by a closer inspection of the purported heirloom.
In a viral post on the social-media platform, the unnamed woman described her experience of being given a ring that was supposedly an antique ruby piece passed down the generations of her fiancé’s family.
“I laughed so hard I cried”
“I (29F) recently got engaged to my fiancé (30M),” the woman recounted in a ‘listener write-ins’ sub-Reddit created by the Two Hot Takes podcast.
“His mom insisted on giving me a ‘family heirloom’ engagement ring, her great-grandmother’s. I was touched. It was a beautiful vintage-style ruby ring.
“I offered to get it cleaned and appraised before resizing. She got weirdly cagey about it. Said ‘just wear it as-is, resizing will ruin it.’
“Well, curiosity won. I took it to a jeweler. It was a $29.99 fake from Walmart’s fashion section. Literally plated brass with glass. I laughed so hard I cried.”
Her fiancé was “furious”, she says. He revealed that his mother had given his brother’s girlfriend a family heirloom the previous year - on this occasion, seemingly a genuine one - only for the couple to split up.
“When we confronted her,” the bride-in-waiting continued, “she went into full victim mode: ‘I didn’t think she’d appreciate the real one!’”
“Buying my own damn ring now”
After enduring what she describes as the “pettiest betrayal I’ve ever experienced”, the woman concluded: “I’m buying my own damn ring now. And I’ll probably be wearing it with my middle finger.”
Since it was posted earlier this month, the anecdote has accrued hundreds of comments from Redditers who have commiserated with the recipient of the phony ruby - and proposed ways to get her own back on her future mother-in-law.
“Wear it and tell this story”
One user wrote: “When she asks for photos of grandchildren, give her the ‘prints’ from frames you buy at Walmart or text her stock photos of children with watermarks like ‘ALAMY’ or ‘SHUTTERSTOCK’ all over them.
“When she complains your response is, ‘I didn’t think she’d appreciate real ones!’”
Another Redditer said: “Be truely [sic] petty. Wear it and tell this story any time anyone asks about it.”
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