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Man gets amazing response after trying to replace wife's $500 'fruity pebble' engagement ring

It didn't go as he expected.

Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash

The value of a ring isn't always how much it costs.

Engagement tradition in the United States largely around the ring as an outward symbol of commitment, traditionally displayed as a singular diamond. Though the diamond engagement ring technically dates back to the 1400s in Rome, a De Beers ad campaign in 1947 that declared, "Diamonds are forever," equated diamonds with marriage in our collective psyches for the better part of the last century.

For some grooms, the size of the "rock" is also a status symbol, showing either how much you can afford or how much of a sacrifice you're willing to make for your bride.

But as one man found out when he tried to upgrade his wife's engagement ring, the size of the diamond isn't what some women value at all.

A Reddit user shared a photo of a woman's hand with a small, simple diamond ring on her left ring finger.

"7 yrs ago, she said 'yes' to me with this $500 fruity pebble of a diamond when I was BROKE-broke," the post reads.
I make $200k now. I surprised her yesterday with an upgrade for Valentine's Day, but she said RETURN IT, that 'anything else would be a downgrade' because of what this little dot means to her 🥲."

"So I am returning this $8k upgrade and I'm taking her to Korea and Japan this winter instead for the same price ❤," the person added.

Now, there's nothing wrong with someone wanting a different ring once they have the money to afford one, but the fact that her original $500 engagement ring was more valuable to her than an $8,000 diamond is tugging at people's heartstrings.

"Brother you’ve found a hell of diamond, I ain’t talking about them rocks," shared one commenter.

"I'm with her there, the first one is lovely and means something. The second ones are... a bit much for a lot of people, but then I hate diamonds, so maybe I'm biased. Memories are worth far more than a common rock IMO. Enjoy your trip!" added another.

"I’ve got almost the same story," added another. "Hubby and I were broke when he asked me to marry him. We picked out my ring together. The set included a wedding bank and cost $275. We’ve been married 38 years. Several times, he’s asked me if I want a different ring. I always say no. This ring is perfect!"

One woman's drove home the true value of a "cheap" ring with a story about her late husband:

"My husband and I got 'temp' rings that were $80 and eloped with the idea that on our 5 year anniversary we would renew our vows, get 'real' rings and have a 'real' wedding.

Unfortunately he passed away in 2017. I cherish my silly little temp ring. It’s the one he placed on my finger and I will love it forever. Even when the tech at the nail salon snickers about it. Even though the stone has cracked and I don’t know how to fix it. This is MY ring that HE gave me I will love it with my whole heart just as I did him.

It’s not the ring, it’s the person who gave it, that makes it worth cherishing.

She cherishes you."

It's a good reminder that the real value of an item is not how much it costs but how much it means and that engagement rings don't have to be fancy or expensive to fulfill their purpose.

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The world is grinning from ear to ear over this hilarious queer double proposal.

When Becky McCabe proposed to her girlfriend, Jessa Gillaspie, she had no idea that her response would be ... pretty darn remarkable.

It all went down at the Memphis Zoo, the location of the couple's first date. Bringing friends along to capture the moment, McCabe had arranged for one of her friends to capture the proposal on video. But, as she knelt down to propose, the response from her girlfriend wasn't what she expected.

Gillaspie laughed and turned to pull out her own engagement ring for McCabe. She'd planned to propose to the love of her life that day, too.

There were tears of joy. Lots of them.

[rebelmouse-image 19494243 dam="1" original_size="735x681" caption="Image via CBS News/Twitter." expand=1]Image via CBS News/Twitter.

Is that not the most heartwarming response to "Will you marry me?" ever?!

The world is in awe at the beautiful, adorable, downright loving proposal.  

The responses to the video show just how important representation is and that lifelong love for queer couple is possible.

The number of same-sex marriages has continued to rise throughout the U.S. since it was legalized in 2015, as have the positive responses to queer couples.

Still, that representation sometimes doesn't make its way into mainstream culture. The Trump administration continues to try and roll back LBGTQ rights, including protection for LGBTQ workers, and removing LGBTQ-friendly language from government documents. Wedding companies still cater to straight couples, queer individuals struggles to navigate their way through dating spaces, and same-sex couples often find few examples of themselves in television and in pop culture.

But, that's slowly changing, and it's extremely important that queer young people know that love is possible.

Love is often the thing that moves us forward. If these lovebirds are any indication, our world is doing just that.

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A woman responds to silly people asking her when she's going to upgrade her wedding ring.

Some folks questioned the size of her wedding ring. She had a lovely response.

It's easy to see why people get excited about diamond rings.

They're shiny, they're beautiful, and they're stunning visual proof of a moment of intense happiness for many couples. 

"You're engaged?! Let's see the ring!"

"Post it to Facebook immediately!" Photo via iStock

But there's an ugly side to engagement and wedding rings, too. And that's the idea that the carat count ought to reflect a couple's status in life, the size of their love, or the strength of their commitment.

According to data from 2012 from the Jewelers of America, Americans spend an average of around $4,000 on engagement rings. Wedding website The Knot pegged the number somewhere closer to $6,000 in 2014.

If our obsession with fancy diamond rings is indeed rising, it's probably not because we're learning to love each other more. 

We're just feeling more pressure than ever to keep up.

Rachel Pederson was getting a lot of comments from friends and family about the size of her ring. Eventually, she had enough.

Rachel is a marketer and social media personality, so she had the perfect platform to say what was on her mind.

It didn't take long for her response to go viral.

Here's the full text:

"Yes, I know that my wedding ring is small.


Friends and family often ask me when I'm going to have it 'upgraded'.... After all, it doesn't represent the level of success we are achieving.


I've even had one person say 'you could wear a bigger ring for important events, so people don't think you're not successful.'


Wait a minute.... Since when did the size of someone's ring become an indication of success?!


For me, the ring is SO much more.


My ring symbolizes a whirlwind, storybook, 'make you sick' love story.... It reminds me of how my husband and I met and fell at in love in one night at a Perkin's diner.


He worked as a window washer, and I was a single mother.


One short week later, and we professed our love to one another, him leading the conversation.


We couldn't stop dreaming of our future, so excited to have a baby, buy a house, and fall asleep together every night.


We couldn't wait for the future. So we didn't.


13 days after meeting, we eloped. I didn't even THINK about a ring until my husband surprised me before the ceremony. He drained his savings to gift me with a small token of his love.


I say small, only because it pales in comparison with how big his love is, even now, after years of marriage.


That, my friends, is success to me."













Bam! Thanks, Rachel, for the excellent reminder.

No one wins when we play the ring-size game. Ring buyers feel the stress of breaking the bank while ring wearers might feel pressure to eventually "upgrade" their ring if it's small or to explain away discrepancies between the sizes of their diamond and their bank account.

And, hey, some people really want to express their love with a big ol' diamond. That's fine too.

Let's just not forget what great marriages are really made of: love, passion, and a lot of hard work.

Next to those, even the brightest diamonds in the world pale in comparison.

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