Woman is urged to break up with fiancé after jeweller reveals her ring is fake

There's a lot of pressure to shell out for an expensive diamond ring, but one man perhaps should have been a little more straight up with his fiancée about the one he presented her with.

The mortified bride-to-be revealed to advice columnist Natalie Bencivenga that her fiancé had lied about her ring.

She discovered the lie thanks to a jeweller who pointed that rather than being a diamond, her ring sported a cubic zirconium.

"I was truly embarrassed," she wrote in her letter.

"My fiancé had surprised me with the ring and I cannot believe that he did this," she explained.

"When I confronted him about it, he just shrugged it off, saying a real diamond ring that size would've cost him a small fortune and what’s the difference, anyway?"

He further angered her by telling her that her friends "will never know".

"I don't think he understands why I’m upset," she continued. "I am upset because I feel lied to. I am ready to call the whole thing off. What do you think I should do?"

Natalie agreed that this was a shaky start to married life - and revealed that she'd be "edging toward the door".

"File this under 'bride-to-be-worst-nightmare,'" she replied.

"Having your engagement ring turn out to be a fake is not exactly the way you want to start a life together."

Fending off any accusations that the bride-to-be was being "shallow" and "materialistic" she went on:

"This is a symbol of your love and commitment to one another. To have it be a fake may make you feel as though your relationship is a fraud, too.

"Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with a cubic zirconium. It’s the fact that he didn't tell you that it wasn't a diamond.

"I wouldn't want to start a life with someone who is so willing to lie to me to make things easier on himself. What else could he be lying to you about?

"I would think long and hard where to go from here. Personally, I would be edging towards the door."

While some women thought the bride-to-be was overreacting, others agreed that her fiancé had been out of line.

Original Quill wrote:CZ's are common nowadays.  In this age of advertising and false expectations, the bigger ring yields more Oh's and Ah's than that tiny, solo baguette.

The crime is the deception.  This wasn't done with the knowledge and complicity of the wife.  My guess is that the guy knew that it was a temporary marriage, anyway, and he expected to be long gone when it was found out.

My brother-in-law did it the smart way.  He bought the tiny stone, and presented it forthrightly on asking.  Then when he got rick and famous, one birthday he wow'ed her with a gorgeous ensemble of engagement, wedding, and 10-year anniversary rings, chocked full of huge (real) stones.

gelico wrote:


hang on, did he actually lie?

it sounds like he presented her with a ring and she just assumed it was a real diamond but did she ask him at the time? and did he say yes?

maybe he also assumed that as a woman she would automatically be able to tell that it wasn't a real one and was happy to accept him for what he could afford

it says when she confronted him he shrugged it off saying a real one that size would have cost a fortune,,,,,,well it probably would and if she was his girlfriend surely she's aware of income, at least a rough idea of what he could afford.

deliberate lies? or just lack of communication and too many assumptions?