Widow goes viral after revealing upsetting request from her late husband’s sister
A widow has gone viral after revealing her former sister-in-law demanded her return jewelry made from her late husband’s wedding ring.
The 27-year-old took to Reddit to explain that she is now engaged to another man after her first husband died five months after their wedding when his car collided with a drunk driver.
Since his death, about five years ago, she had the rings melted down and used the gold and stones to make a necklace and a pair of earrings.
She remained close to her 29-year-old sister-in-law, whom she called “Ava.”
However, the widow was left stunned when ‘Ava’ asked for the jewelery back following news of her new engagement last month.
A woman, 27, posted on Reddit on June 18 claiming that her former sister-in-law, Ava, had asked for a necklace featuring her late fiancé’s wedding ring
Ava congratulated the Reddit user on her engagement before asking for the necklace
In a June 18 Reddit post, the user named SleeplessYellowSun wrote: “Last weekend [Ava] invited me for a drink. We chatted for a moment before she congratulated me on my engagement.
She then asked me if she could have my necklace because it would mean more to her as his sister than to me now that I was getting remarried and moving on. Which honestly baffles me that anyone would outright ask for something like that.”
The woman had married her high school sweetheart at the age of 22.
She explained how she struggled to move on in their marriage so quickly after his death and didn’t want to keep their wedding rings hidden in a drawer.
“I took them to a jeweler and had his and my rings melted down and used the gold and stones to make a pendant and some small stud earrings,” she said.
‘I have the earrings in my jewelry box and wear the necklace every day. Firstly, I like the way it looks, and secondly, I like the idea of having a tangible part of him with me at all times.’
The Reddit user added that one of the rings in the necklace contained a small emerald that she and her late husband found at a jewelry store while on vacation.
‘Ava’ had never asked for the necklace, even though she and her brother’s late wife kept in touch.
She added, “I still have a lot of love for her, but our relationship has changed drastically, and her asking me what she did and how she worded it really wasn’t in the realm of what I thought she thought of me would say or ask. .’
She further pointed out that her former sister-in-law already owns some of her late brother’s belongings, including memorabilia and clothing from her childhood.
After meeting Ava, the poster told her best friend, 28, who suggested she give the necklace back.
“She said it seemed strange that I was still so attached to it given its history and my new involvement,” the Reddit user explained.
“She thinks I should probably give it to Ava because it would mean more to her, and that I should let go of everything from my old life and embrace my new one.”
Her best friend also suggested she buy another necklace and make new memories.
In her post, the widow emphasized that she had moved on and was “completely happy” in her relationship.
“I’m so excited about the life we’re creating together,” she wrote.
“But a part of me will always love and mourn my former husband and the life we could have had together, and I don’t think that takes anything away from my new relationship. They are different loves and lives.”
She added that she now understands the loss of her first husband by imagining a soul as “a bubble that grows” and that the experiences and relationships “just float around it.”
“Good experiences and relationships add things to the bubble that make it beautiful, like little bits of glitter, flowers and lightness,” she wrote.
“I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else, but it’s always helped me to remember that fresh, fiery pain won’t feel like that forever and that I’m walking into something fluffy and kind and happy.”
The newly engaged Reddit user married her high school sweetheart at the age of 22. He died in a car accident five months later
She claimed that her fiancé “doesn’t care” if she keeps the necklace and that he knows the Reddit user loves him despite losing her first husband.
“He understands that I will always have some level of sadness and that he loves the way I have loved and continue to love and how I embrace life and people because of my experience.”
More than 1,000 Reddit users commented on the post, many of which were from individuals claiming the widow was right.
One wrote: ‘The necklace is yours and it is completely inappropriate for your former sister-in-law to ask for it.’
“I’m sure she has other things that remind her of her brother. Sure, they’re probably not jewels, but she has no connection to the jewels in the necklace since you and him picked them out together.”
Other users have wondered why Ava would want their wedding rings, with one person writing that her desire to keep them for herself was “deeply wrong on every level.”
“That necklace is made from your wedding rings – so it’s part of you too,” one Reddit user wrote.
It symbolizes your time with him and the important role he has played in your life, and your fiancé understands that.”