Mom Ruins Daughter's Engagement by Calling Out Her New Fiancé Over His 'Cheap' Ring


Bride holding starbucks cup

We've always been told that it's the thought that matters. That is, unless you're talking about engagement rings -- in which case it certainly is the thought, but also the cut, and according to one mother of the bride, the cost of the ring that should be the priority. Her daughter, however, disagrees. She was charmed by the $19 ring her fiancé got her and is hurt that her mother told her that her engagement doesn't count because he didn't get her a piece of jewelry with "value."

  • The bride explained that although her ring isn't expensive, it holds special meaning to her.

    The woman shared on Mumsnet in a post that has since been deleted that her partner of three years finally proposed using a ring he remembered she liked "a couple of months back." The ring was about £15 (or about $19 US), but the bride didn't mind. They don't have a lot of money and she was just excited to be engaged. 

    Except when she told her mother about her engagement, her mom was not impressed by the price of the ring. "She was shocked and disgusted that my partner hadn't spent more money on the ring and said it basically doesn't count as an engagement," the bride wrote.

    Is she wrong or should she have asked for a more expensive ring?

  • Advertisement
  • Most people agreed that this bride needs to ignore her mother.

    "Of course it's a real engagement, congratulations [Original Poster]," one person wrote, adding that she may not want to share all the details with her mother. "Be careful what you share with Mum in future."

    "Congratulations on your engagement -- sounds like a fab partner you have remembering and getting the lovely ring you admired," another person agreed. "Ignore your mum -- it is your love together that counts."

    And someone else shared their own story about getting an inexpensive ring. "We got engaged with a brass ring that turned her finger green," the person wrote. "Later we got a much more expensive ring, both sit in her jewelry box. The ring is just a symbol, the two of you and what you share is the bond."

  • But some people were on her mom's side -- the bride should ask for something nicer.

    "[To be honest] personally I wouldn’t bother with a ring if it was going to be very cheap dress jewelry -- there doesn’t seem to be much point really," one person commented. "But you’re still engaged."

    "[To be honest] £15 is a bit tight. Mine was £150 and [dear husband] took payment plan on it and paid it off over a year," another person added. 

    But the bride later clarified that she really valued the thought behind the ring -- not the price. "He would have taken out a loan to get me a £2000 ($2,584) ring if I had asked for one but I've always said in conversation that I wouldn't want him to spend a lot of money on a ring if we don't have it," she wrote.

    "It's just dampened the moment a bit having your mom say your engagement doesn't count because the rings too cheap," she added.

engagement wedding