When one party breaks off a marriage, it’s devastating for the other. Many people have questions about the proper wedding ring etiquette in these cases. Do you return the ring to the person who bought it, or do you sell it out of pain and anger? Here’s the polite (and legal) way to go about it.
Every situation is different, one breakup could be due to infidelity, while another may be mutual. The way it works, legally and fairly, is the ring goes to the party that did not break the condition.
An engagement ring is a gift to the bride-to-be on the condition that she will accept the potential grooms hand in marriage. If he calls it off, she did not break the condition, so she will keep the ring. If she calls it off, she did break the condition of the gift, so the ring goes to the groom-to-be. However, many people take into an account things like cheating, abuse, and other harmful things. If the relationship is toxic and you have to leave for your own good, keeping the ring is often considered fair.
At that point, you probably can’t return the ring to the vendor, and he might not even tell you where he purchased it. If you’re in an engagement that recently ended and you obtained the ring, the healthiest thing you can do is sell it or give it away. Do not hold onto a bad memory. Get rid of the ring and give yourself a nice relaxing day of retail therapy (you deserve it).