Engagements are supposed to be memorable for all the right reasons. But because there are so many expectations associated with the event, when things don't quite meet the fantasy in your head, it can be almost impossible to hide your disappointment.
Everyone's idea of the perfect proposal is different. While some want the event to be flashy and receive a diamond-encrusted ring worth thousands atop of the Effiel Tower, there are others who take a more understated approach.
One man who allegedly took an understated approach was the fiancé of Reddit user 'secondhandring'. After making the sentimental and romantic decision to propose with his mother's engagement ring, his partner took to the discussion site to share her disappointment.
However, the woman was unimpressed and wrote that she didn't "want the beginning of my new life to start with a second hand ring". Needless to say, her partner was very upset. Her full post is as follows:
"First I just want to say that I'm not the kind of person who demands expensive gifts but we do gift each other a lot of things.
"I and my boyfriend have been together for 10 years. We live together, and we have a 4yo daughter. I was waiting forever for him to propose. So I was really excited when my sister told me that my boyfriend asked her which kind of ring would suit me and he sent her some pics from Tiffany's. I was super excited and hyped and I kind of guessed that he wanted to propose on our anniversary.
"The day comes and I'm really excited. We went out for a romantic dinner, got back and when we were watching a movie he suddenly got down on his knees and asked me if I wanted to marry him. I said yes and then he showed me the ring. It was not even a new one. It looked old and the stones looked average at best. When I asked him about that he told me that his mother gave him her ring. He told me that it had a great sentimental value since his father was the only man his mother ever truly loved and I'm the only woman he'll ever love. His father is no more, and his mother gave it to him.
It's all sweet and cheesy but it doesn't look great. Also, I don't want the begining of my new life to start with a second hand ring. When I told him this, he was very upset and told me that he never thought I was so materialistic and he just left. He's not even answering any of my messages or calls. Was I wrong? AITA? [sic]"
Reddit users were quick to weigh in on the woman's complaint, and unsurprisingly, almost everyone slammed her for being so materialistic. However, the highest voted response to the post came from user 'Poobut13', who did make a useful suggestion:
"You can get a display ring or work out buying something you want to show off, but the proposal is entirely sentimental. For you to rip that apart I can see why your (hopefully fiancé) is upset. Communicate with each other. Apologize. You can still fix this by working with each other."
"I think a big issue is that she's expecting a new life after being engaged/ married. They live together and have a child. Maybe they'll combine some finances or buy a nicer house, but the whole 'new life' thing is a fantasy. It's going to be the same life," wrote Reddit user '_t-bex_'.
User 'LovecraftianLlama' remarked: "It's so much MORE special than some Tiffanys ring that 300 other people have... I would feel so honored if someone did something like that for me! You really need to reevaluate OP."
"He explained to you that it was reminiscent of his parents' marriage, one that he apparently felt was a marriage he wanted to emulate with you. He was trying to show you how much he loved you, and you boiled his love down to the value of a piece of metal and a rock," wrote 'lookmanofilter'.
However, many of the comments echoed that of 'WhiskyBrisky', who simply said: "You sound horrible. My biggest fear is falling in love with a woman like you."
We can only hope that the 29-year-old, who the Daily Mail have reported are believed to be American, took the advice of the top-rated post and profusely apologized. That being said, would you accept her apology?
