25 Things to Do With Your Wedding Ring After Divorce

What Did You Do With Your Wedding and Engagement Ring After Divorce?

In August 2020, there was an informal poll on my private Facebook Group: Life-Saving Divorce for Separated or Divorced Christians. Both men and women participated in the poll. See their 25 ideas and comments below. I also did a poll on what they did with their wedding dress or tuxedo.

Here are some ways they dealt with their wedding/engagement rings

1. I threw mine into the woods behind my new apartment to be rid of it.
2. I kept it for my son.
3. My ex took it.
4. I’ll take it apart and have other jewelry made out of it.
5. I sold my large diamond and bought a piano to bring music into our home.
6. I'm turning mine into a diamond necklace.
7. I’m keeping it for my oldest daughter, or will have it remade into something else for her to wear.
8. I sold both of our wedding rings, but still have my engagement ring.
9. I would love to have a “mother’s ring” made out of the diamond (a diamond in the center with stones for the kids around it).
10. My husband insisted I leave everything behind. It wasn’t worth the fight.
11. I sent my wedding ring to my ex-wife with a letter offering her forgiveness.
12. I kept mine and haven’t decided yet what to do.
13. I’d like to donate it to an organization that helps people in need, maybe a domestic violence shelter.
14. My middle daughter always said she wants my rings. That’s fine with me.
15. I took mine to a local jewelry store and sold it.
16. I took mine to a pawn shop.
17. I’ve kept them for my kids. They might want to use the stones for their own engagement rings.
18. One of my wedding rings can pass as a righthand ring. So I’ll just keep it and wear it.
19. I’m thinking of having the diamonds reset. The large center one is more than a carat.
20. I kept my wedding ring because it was my grandmother’s.
21. When I went to sell my ring, I discovered that my husband bought me a fake diamond. I sold it just for the gold.
22. I had an 18-carat gold wedding band, and I sold it along with some other scrap gold (earrings, broken chains) and bought a gold necklace for an ancient coin pendant I bought in Israel.
23. I donated mine to be melted down for a fundraiser for an orphanage in Kenya.
24. I gave it to my ex for repayment for stem cells.
25. My diamond is beautiful and I think I’ll make it into a necklace.

MORE IDEAS ADDED

1. I’ll sell it to pay my legal bills.
2. I tossed it in the trash. It was a cheap set.
3. I put mine in a drawer to keep and custom ordered a new ring to wear instead. (It says: God is faithful, wonderful, loving, kind...")
4. I have 7 children and 7 nice rings which includes my wedding set. Each child will get the ring of their choosing upon my death.
5. Sold mine in FB marketplace to pay bills. It didn’t hold its value even though it cost over $3k! My now husband traded his in along with another gold ring he had when we bought our set earlier this year.
6. Put it in my bank safe deposit box for a couple of years and then sold it online to pay property taxes.
7. I keep mine in a drawer as a size guide. When they fit comfortably I know I'll be back at my pre-wedding weight.
8.  I threw the wedding band in the lake and I wear the engagement ring on my other hand.
9. Never had one. He refused to wear one. I bought myself a $20 ring to wear.
10. I bartered my ring with a house cleaner for services.
11. My ring had a lot of diamonds. I ended up using it as part of the divorce settlement.
12. I kept it because it is a family heirloom.
13. I had it melted down.
14. My husband lets our daughter wear his on a necklace.
15. I'll keep them and let my kids decide what to do with them.
16. Sold it to pay my attorney.
17. Kept it in the safe deposit box for years. Finally sold it.
18. Threw them into the ocean.
19. Trade it for a gold band that says:  “Loved with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3
20. Going to build my ring with stones for each of my children around the diamond. I have fought for their safety for years, and when he is safely locked away, the ring will represent new beginnings and safety.

What if you cannot get your ring off?

Cool ring remover (thank you to M.E. for the tip).  Click on image below. https://www.amazon.com/Epic-Medical-Supply-Emergency-Protection/dp/B08R348Q6P

Also police or firefighters or EMTs are often capable of cutting it off free of charge.