Advertisement

Sunrise hosts weigh in on Aussie woman's divisive engagement ring act

A Facebook listing is proving to be very divisive and raises the question of who gets to keep an engagement ring if the wedding doesn't go ahead.

This week, a woman from Australia unintentionally kicked off a debate by trying to sell her Tiffany and Co engagement ring in a Facebook group.

The ring is valued at over $26,000, however, she wanted just $18,500, 7News reported.

On the Facebook post the woman reportedly wrote, "Selling this for obvious reasons. I do, now I don't," suggesting she had broken off the engagement. In the comments people were divided on whether it was her ring to sell.

Some said the ring belongs to the person who proposed if the wedding doesn't go ahead, others thought the ring was rightfully hers, so she could sell it if she wanted.

The debate extended beyond Facebook and even had people talking on breakfast news.

A woman selling her engagement ring on Facebook had people divided.
A woman selling her engagement ring on Facebook had people divided. Source: Channel 7 Source: Facebook/7News

Sunrise presenters weighed in on the debate on Tuesday morning.

Natalie Barr questioned whether the ex-fiancé would then be able to give the ring to someone else if the woman returned it.

"Oh, you can't recycle it," Edwina Bartholomew said.

If the ex-fiancé purchased the ring, then is he allowed to sell it?

Later in the show, former senator and media personality Derryn Hinch argued an engagement ring is a gift.

"It's a sign of wanting to get married but if the relationship then breaks up you're not entitled to get the ring back," he argued.

"She probably can't stand the sight of it because her heart is broken and whatever, so if she wants to sell it to get rid of it rather than throw it away, good on her."

Legally, who keeps the engagement ring?

There was a case that went all the way up to the NSW Supreme Court, where a woman broke off the engagement 10 days after she and her ex-partner exchanged rings.

After the engagement was broken off, the woman offered to return the ring, supposedly, however, her former partner told her to keep it, saying it was a gift.

It wasn't until after she disposed of the $15,000 ring in the garbage, along with other possessions related to the couple's relationship that her ex tried to get compensation for the ring.

There is actually a legal precedent regarding who keeps the engagement ring. Source: Getty Images, file
There is actually a legal precedent regarding who keeps the engagement ring. Source: Getty Images, file

"The Court likened the promise of marriage to a commercial bargain, governed largely by the law of contracts," Slater and Gordon said in a blog post about the case.

"In other words, the act of giving an engagement ring could be seen as nothing more than a transaction where the ring symbolises a deposit for fulfilment of a contract."

The law firm outlined some key principles that apply to engagement rings.

For example, if someone initially accepts the proposal but calls off the wedding, she must return the ring.

If someone refuses to get married and there was "repudiatory" conduct on their partner's behalf, they get to keep the ring.

If someone proposes but then changes their mind "without legal justification", they cannot demand the ring be returned.

If the break-up is mutual, then gifts and the engagement ring must be returned to the original party.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.