Man Who Took Diamond From Heirloom to Propose Sparks Outrage

A man has taken to Reddit to share how he took a diamond from his girlfriend's family heirloom to propose to her—and the internet is not on his side.

Posting to the discussion-based site on November 24, under the account name Fleetsmyk, he started by revealing he had been with his girlfriend, 22, for around three years when he decided to pop the question.

The man, 24, wanted to "get her a really sentimental ring" because she is "hugely into jewellery."

He went on to explain that her grandmother had recently passed away and "as my girlfriend was the only granddaughter, she was passed down her wedding ring."

As a result, the Redditor thought it might be a "good idea for me to use one of the diamonds in the ring for my girlfriends engagement ring."

Considering his girlfriend's dad had died when she was 12, he asked her mother, who was the deceased's daughter-in-law.

"She told me that as much as she loved the idea, she didn't know if my girlfriend would, and so told me to think about it," he revealed.

Despite this he decided to take the heirloom, which his girlfriend didn't wear as "she was worried about losing" it, from a box in her room, and used one of the diamonds from it for the new ring.

He revealed that he thought it she would "love the sentiment of it." However, when he proposed, his wife-to-be "said yes immediately and was absolutely elated, until she saw the ring.

"She told me I'd practically vandalised and ruined the only meaningful thing of her grandmother's that she had and that I should have asked."

The man ended the post by asking if he was in the wrong and adding: "She said yes to my proposal but refuses to wear the ring, which I just think is disrespectful considering how much money and thought went into it."

Some would say an engagement ring should cost as much as two months' salary, though this idea actually stems from a marketing campaign by the De Beers diamond company in in the first half of the 20th century.

Nevertheless according to data from website The Knot, the average engagement ring price in 2019 in the U.S was $5,900.

The post has gained lots of traction online since it was posted on December 5, with more than 11,100 upvotes and many comments outraged at the man's actions.

Damn_Dutchman wrote: "How dense can you be... you destroyed a family heirloom and you seriously thought she'd love that?

"YOU DESTROYED her one family heirloom! Because you were too lazy (or broke) to go buy a diamond yourself.

Pussnboots29 added: "You were too cheap to buy your own and then passing it off as being offended by her not liking your effort."

NowATL revealed her fiancé did a similar thing, but with her consent: "Fiancé used the stone from my late mother's engagement ring in a setting he designed himself, and I am elated. But I ASKED HIM to use these stones!

"I can't imagine how enraged I would be if he had done it behind my back and I wanted to keep my mom's ring the way it was!"

Beans0913 typed: "OP [Original Poster] was warned by mom. But he couldn't find anything HE liked more?

"It wasn't about what HE liked more. It's about not destroying a family heirloom and finding something that she would like."