Mum left with dilemma as son demands she gives him her engagement ring

When deciding to pop the big question to their significant other, some people either go for a brand-new sparker or instead chose a ring already in the family which holds extra sentimental value.

However, one mother has upset her son after he requested her engagement ring to propose to his girlfriend and she refused to give it to him.

Posting the dilemma on Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" page, the mother explained how her 26-year-old son Sam wanted to ask his long-time girlfriend now fiancee Emily, also 26, to marry him.

After they announced the news to the mum and her husband, the newly engaged couple "had something important to talk to me about," which concerned the mum's engagement ring.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

"Sam wanted my engagement ring to give to Emily," she wrote. "Sam said this would be a great way to keep him from starting his marriage in debt from having to buy a new expensive diamond ring. Emily also added that she has liked the look of my ring a lot and would love for me to pass it down to her."

However there was one problem with this. "I love my engagement ring," the mum said. "I have worn it every day since my husband proposed to me with it and to be honest, I still have plenty of years to live that I want to keep wearing it until I am old and grey."

The mum also noted how her ring was "not a family heirloom," as it was her husband who bought the ring for her.

Given her attachment to the piece of jewellery, she told her son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law while she "appreciated them wanting my ring," ultimately, she wanted to keep it herself and gave the same reasons.

"However, when I am old, I would be more than happy to give it to their future children," she told them.

Safe to say, this did not go down well with Sam and Emily as the mum was called "selfish and materialistic" by her son.

A woman has described how her son called her "selfish and materialistic" for not wanting to give her engagment ring to himiStockphoto by Getty Images

"He said that diamonds are a scam and asked how I could let him go into debt to buy a new ring," she wrote.

Meanwhile, Emily was "disappointed" and had hoped the ring "could become a family heirloom and it would be a token of accepting her into our family."

To which the mum added for context that she has "always liked Emily and we got along great."

"They also said that I could keep my wedding band so it wasn't like they were leaving me without any rings to wear," the mum detailed before asking whether she was the a**hole in this situation.

The dilemma caught the attention of Redditors as the post received over 18,000 upvotes and 3,000 comments from people who chimed in to share their thoughts.

There was resounding support for the mother in this case, as people described how the son and his fiancee were "entitled children."

One person wrote: "Bad enough that Emily was there too, but Emily actually piping up to express her own disappointment?!?! This is gobsmacking. What’s next, they ask to be gifted OP’s house so they don’t “start their marriage in debt”?

"While we’re at it, go ahead and throw in all your savings, you two are OLD and your life is basically over anyway! If I was OP I’d be seriously questioning where me and my husband went wrong in raising this self-absorbed AH and how he could possibly have turned out this way. NTA time for them to grow up."

"Also if diamonds are a scam then why do they need one? This is ridiculous and hypocritical of them. Totally NTA," another person said.

Someone else added: "How “generous” of them to say you could keep your wedding band. What a pair of entitled children!!! Your engagement ring has lots of emotional value to you, and you wear it daily.

"They have no right to it at all, and you shouldn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt for kindly declining to offer it. I’m sorry that your son is being so awful to you over this. Wear your ring with joy and pride, and let your son and his fiancée sort their ring issues without your assistance."

"Wait till they ask for your house to avoid mortgage debt! NTA," a fourth person replied.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.