The internet has backed a woman's ultimatum against her husband, after he gave away her heirloom jewelry as a wedding present.
The outraged wife posted her situation to Reddit's Am I The A**hole forum, under username Saved-Ad7607.
She explained that she was the breadwinner of the house, as her husband hasn't been able to "land a job" since 2013.
The 36-year-old also lost her job at one point, and sadly was forced to sell numerous jewelry sets to pay rent. Now her job gets them by "from month to month."
She held on to one set, as it had sentimental value since it was part of a family heirloom, consisting of a gold pair of earrings, bracelet and necklace, worth a "decent amount of money."
She didn't give it a second thought, until she noticed it was missing. After confronting her husband, he revealed he'd given it away as a wedding present.
Explaining the backstory, she claimed her brother-in-law and his girlfriend had been together for a decade, and the wedding was "a huge deal for the family."
She wrote: "My husband wanted to get them a decent wedding gift and tried borrowing money from friends and neighbors but got turned down. He kept stressing out about it for weeks and just the other day (the wedding was days prior and the groom and bride are off to their honeymoon) I discovered that my jewelry set was gone. I freaked after my husband nonchalantly said he gifted it to his brother's wife as a wedding gift.
"I was fuming I asked how could he and he replied that he had no money and nothing of value to give the newlyweds and besides that that set has been sitting in the closet since July, 2019 and I never wore any piece of it so he figured I'd forgotten about it but he said he'll figure a way to pay me or get me a similar one once he starts working but I very loudly told him absolutely not and gave him 3 days, just 3 days to return the set or I'll stop paying for everything in the apartment."
Apparently he didn't think his wife would follow through with her threat, as she fumed: "He looked puzzled like he couldn't believe I was serious."
She revealed the couple were already on their honeymoon abroad, but she didn't reveal where they were currently based.
She continued: "He said he doesn't want to cause an issue but I said it's already there and if he doesn't want issues all he has to do is contact his brother or his wife and retrieve the set or go get it himself.
"He tried to twist the argument and offer the same solutions as mentioned above but I refused I said I just want my set back and he has 3 days only.
"He kept talking about how tasteless and disrespectful it'd be for him to retrieve a wedding gift and said this will damage his relationship with his brother and family and also how impossible it was to retrieve the set in 3 days when the couple are on their honeymoon in another country."
Her post, shared on Tuesday, amassed more than 20,000 upvotes, as she shared more information in the comments, explaining why her husband has been unable to find work.
She wrote: "All potential employers had an issue with his disability (his left arm is injured but partly functional) that has taken a toll on us for years.
"This set is literally all I have left because I'm barely covering rent and bills and other needs."
Numerous people commented on the situation, with PoopieClater advising: "AND, report the set stolen. It is a family heirloom that is not any way part of marital property. Your husband stole from you, and his brother and SIL [sister-in-law] received the stolen property. Hopefully you can bring charges against them all."
Tig2112phx commented: "This is not mooching, this is stealing. He stole her jewelry set!"
CluesLostHelp thought: "I'd file for divorce now. The longer you wait, the more you risk having to pay alimony to an unemployed spouse. I don't know how long OP has been married or where she is located, but a number of states (in the U.S.) have a presumption of lifetime alimony once you hit 10 years of marriage as well."
Zootnotdingo said: "Agreed. OP, you are not being abusive. Get your jewelry back. You are right. He is completely wrong."
While ShadowsObserver pointed out: "And even if he could buy her something of equal or greater value, it still wouldn't be a family heirloom."
Website Brides.com indicates factors such as how much it costs to attend the wedding, how well you know the couple and tradition are all factors when it comes to what to spend on the gift.
But it stressed: "Limit your investment to what you can actually afford, even if it's less than what etiquette suggests. If you can't find a single item that fits your budget, consider purchasing a few smaller items to total an amount that works for you."
Newsweek reached out to Saved-Ad7607 for comment.
