History Main / ReturningTheWeddingRing

* In ''Series/MonarchLegacyOfMonsters'' after Hiroshi Randa is exposed for having a SecretOtherFamily on opposite sides of the Pacific, his Japanese wife Emiko takes off her wedding ring and puts it in the box of his stuff he came to collect.

** In ''Series/AgentCarter'' during a flashback to Peggy's life back in England she was engaged to be married, turning down an opportunity to take work in the field undercover, which her brother had recommended her for. After word comes that her brother has been killed in action, she packs her bags and leaves, taking the letter offering the position and leaving her engagement ring in its place.
** In ''Series/SecretInvasion2023'' Nick Fury is seen putting on his ring when he comes home to his wife Varra, but after discovering she was secretly working with Gravik he takes it off and leaves it at the house.
* In ''Series/MonarchLegacyOfMonsters'' after Hiroshi Randa is exposed for having a SecretOtherFamily on opposite sides of the Pacific his Japanese wife Emiko takes off her wedding ring and puts it in the box of his stuff he came to collect.
* ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'': Alex gives Jen an engagement ring when he proposes to her in the season premiere, and keeps it after he seemingly dies at Ransik's hands. She later returns it during the second-to-last episode, sealing the breaking point of their relationship (that had been falling apart since he revealed himself alived and returned to the past).

* In ''Series/AgentCarter'' during a flashback to Peggy's life back in England she was engaged to be married, turning down an opportunity to take work in the field undercover, which her brother had recommended her for. After word comes that her brother has been killed in action, she packs her bags and leaves, taking the letter offering the position and leaving her engagement ring in its place.

* In ''Series/SecretInvasion2023'' Nick Fury is seen putting on his ring when he comes home to his wife Varra, but after discovering she was secretly working with Gravik he takes it off and leaves it at the house.

* In ''{{Manga/Monster}}'', Eva callously drops her engagement ring at Tenma's feet before walking inside to start flirting with the guy who got Tenma's promotion instead of him.

** In the anime and the manga, [[spoiler: Miki's CrazyJealousGuy Kei takes a medallion (anime) or a bracelet (manga) that was very meaningful for Yuu and Miki and gives it to Yuu, claiming that Miki has told him that doesn't want to be Yuu's girlfriend any longer. Yuu is savvy enough to see through the lie and tells Miki that he didn't believe Kei's clame as he returns the trinket to her, but they still break off for a very short while.]]
** The second time takes place [[AdaptationExpansion only in the anime]]. [[spoiler: When Miki visits Yuu in the USA, Yuu's ClingyJealousGirl Ginny tells her that she is [[TheMistress Yuu's other woman]] and sends Miki in an HeroicBSOD. She believes and forgives Yuu when he explains the situation to her, but tells him that she's emotionally exhausted with their LongDistanceRelationship and breaks up with him: '''the''' turning point is when she gives Yuu back a voice-recording toy that he had given her, which has the same effect as a ring return. This break up is far, '''far''' more serious, and it takes them ''several'' episodes (and several months in-story) to start dating again.]]
* In one manga version of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', Deridre is [[spoiler:kidnapped and brainwashed by Manfroy so that she can marry Arvis. To symbolize how she's no longer married to Sigurd, he takes off her ring and throws it away.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'': During a brief storyarc in the 90s, Lois began to question whether or not a life with Superman was what she wanted. Issue #720 of ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' ends with Clark returning home and finding her engagement ring on the dresser.
* In [[Franchise/{{Superman}} yet another]] ''[[Comicbook/SupermanRebirth Superman]]'' story, Frankenstein wears his ex-bride's wedding ring alongside his own. He offers it to her after they have a bonding experience, and she drops it at his feet.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} redesigned by Creator/AAPessimal, a married couple are contracted to assess applicants for assisted places at the Assassins' Guild School. Having whittled the applicants down to the outstanding very best, in the final assessment interview a candidate is challenged to work out whether his interviewer's rings are the [[PoisonRing Lady T'Malia sort]], or not. He is invited to take his interviewer's wedding and engagement rings off her hand to study them more closely. Although only just eleven years old, the potential student Assassin wonders if a woman's wedding ring is meant to come off heer finger so easily. He looks at her husband, another member of the interview panel, and it dawns on him that she is making a point.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/OneHundredFeet'': The protagonist finally gets the ghost of her abusive husband to pass on by throwing her wedding ring at him at the climax of the film after all of her other attempts to get rid of him failed.
* Invoked by Claudius, against Ophelia's will, in ''Film/{{Ophelia}}''. He forces her to give back tokens of Hamlet's affection, his ring and the ribbon she wore it on, while he and Polonius secretly observe to determine Hamlet's reaction to her rejection. Hamlet is initially confused more than anything [[spoiler: because they were literally married only yesterday]], until Ophelia subtly tips him off as to what's really going on.

* ''Film/TheParentTrap1998'' The twins' father reveals his former fiancee returned the ring by throwing it at his head.
* ''Film/TheScentOfGreenPapaya'': The composer's girlfriend ends her room-wrecking tantrum, after they breakup, by leaving her engagement ring on a table and walking out.
* In ''Film/ReadyOrNot2019'', [[spoiler:newlyweds Grace and Alex are the last two surviving members of the [=LeDomas=] family, and Grace has had it. She takes off her ring, bounces it off his chest, and tells him she wants a divorce. He promptly explodes.]]
* ''{{Film/IQ|1994}}'': Implied. When Catherine informs an incredulous James that she's [[DisposableFiance calling off their engagement]] because she's fallen in love with Ed, she noticeably is no longer wearing her [[EnormousEngagementRing engagement ring.]]

--> '''Her''': That's it! We're done! I can't live with such a... miser anymore! Here, take back this engagement ring of yours!
-->'''Him''': Wait wait wait, and where is the box?

* In the Creator/CarlHiaasen novel ''Sick Puppy'', the female protagonist had been engaged four times, broke the engagement four times, and returned the ring three times. The fourth she kept, not out of sentimental reasons, but because the breakup was over her fiance developing a disturbing fascination with body piercings, and she was afraid of what he'd do with it if it was returned.
** In the case of her first fiance, whom she caught cheating with a stripper, she didn't actually return the ring to him, instead she flushed it down the toilet in front of him.

* In ''Literature/BlandingsCastle'', FieryRedhead Sandy Callender isn't content with merely returning her fiance's ring:
-->"So she gave you back the ring?" \\
"She threw it at me. You may have noticed the slight abrasion on my left cheek."
* A platonic example occurs in ''{{Literature/Speak}},'' when Heather rejects her outcast friend Melinda in favor of the popular Martha clique and seals the deal by giving her back the necklace she received from her for Christmas.

* PlayedForLaughs on ''{{Series/Seinfeld}}''. Elaine discovers her bald boyfriend actually shaves his head. She encourages him to grow it out and he discovers that he's going bald for real. Under George's advice, he gets engaged to her. Then, he has an altercation with the police and arrested. When he tells her how long he'll be in jail and she realizes he'll lose even more hair in that time, she gives back the ring.
* In an episode of ''Series/SeventhHeaven'', Mary and Lucy are still holding onto the engagement rings from their ex-boyfriends, while a subplot involves Ruthie's teacher telling her about how she gave back the ring from her ex not long ago. This inspires Ruthie to convince her big sisters to mail the rings back to the guys to show they're over them.
* In the third season finale of ''Series/That70sShow'', Eric gives a promise ring to Donna, who takes it as a statement that he wants her to be a HouseWife instead of having a career and seeing the world, so she gives the ring back. Taking it as she doesn't want to be with him, Eric breaks up with Donna.
* In the second episode of ''{{Series/Friends}}'' Rachel has to return her engagement ring to the fiance she [[RunawayBride left at the altar]] in the previous episode. To make matters worse, [[LostWeddingRing the ring goes missing]] before she can see him.
* ''Series/GeneralHospital''. When Karen breaks up with Jason because she's fallen in love with Jagger, she removes the necklace he gave her only a few hours earlier and hands it back to him. She caps it off by showing up at his house the next day to return his letter jacket as well.

* In the MusicVideo for "Let's Get Married" by Music/JaggedEdge, Sarah is frustrated (and not for the first time) with her fiancé Trent putting friends and fun before her. The last straw is when she calls him for emotional support while wedding-dress shopping (the night before the wedding!), and he's at his StagParty, where one of the strippers hangs up his phone on her. She calls off the engagement, and returns the ring to Trent, who is left sitting on the steps of the church contemplating WhatCouldHaveBeen. [[spoiler: The video then rewinds to that party, and Trent leaves to take the call, and the wedding goes as planned.]]

* Inversion on verse two of Music/TheBeatles' "I'm Down":
-->Man buys ring, woman throws it away,\\
Same old thing happens every day.

* It's a widely accepted rule of etiquette that if the recipient of an engagement ring decides not to marry they should offer to return it. Depending on the jurisdiction, this might be actually be [https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/returning-engagement-ring-30198.html#:~:text=Under%20conditional%2Dgift%20law%20in,Civ. the law] as engagements rings are considered "conditional gifts".

* It's a widely accepted rule of etiquette that if the recipient of an engagement ring decides not to marry they should offer to return it. Depending on the jurisdiction, this might be actually be [[https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/returning-engagement-ring-30198.html#:~:text=Under%20conditional%2Dgift%20law%20in,Civ. the law]] as engagements rings are considered "conditional gifts".