Groom calls off wedding after bride was offended by lab-grown diamond ring

A man called off his engagement after his fiancee demanded he buy her a more expensive ring.

In a message to RedditOn the popular subreddit r/TrueOffMyChest, the groom explained his decision to call off the wedding just days after the proposal, noting that everything was fine until the bride “somehow” figured out the value of her engagement ring. When she did, she demanded the one at a higher price.

“She told me she was hurt that I would spend so little on her, arguing that it reflected her value and the seriousness of our future marriage,” wrote the groom, who bought his bride a $2,400 lab-grown diamond ring.

The bride claimed that her engagement ring should have cost “at least $20,000.” Although the groom admitted he could afford a more expensive ring, he countered that they should be more financially responsible, listing several more practical things he could spend his money on.

“I pointed out that there are smarter ways to use the $20,000: paying off a car loan, putting it toward a down payment on a house, investing, or even funding her business idea—which we talked about earlier,” the man explained in his post. “As someone who grew up without financial security, gaining financial security and literacy is a top priority for me.”

However, the bride insisted she would still be “worried” if her ring wasn’t renewed.

The response “shocked” the groom, who says he was otherwise a “supportive and devoted partner”, and prompted him to second-guess their relationship, which ultimately led him to ending it.

He urged: “Gentlemen: the price of a diamond ring should never dictate the quality of your marriage. I don’t have to be married to know that.”

Although the breakup was “rough,” the man stands by his decision because he now knows that he and his ex-fiancée have different values.

“I realized this is not the marriage I want,” he wrote. “It hurts, I won’t lie, but the price of a shiny mineral should not determine the basis of a partnership.”

Never miss a story – subscribe PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Reddit users took the groom’s side in the comments.

“Damn, if she doesn’t want it, sooner or later someone else will,” one person commented. “Glad you canceled it. She needs to prioritize.”

Many users even shared the price of their engagement rings, most of which were lower than the $2,400 listed on the original poster.

“My first ring cost $750. The one we were looking at now costs about $350. The cost of a ring is not an indicator of the strength of someone’s love,” another Reddit user commented. “OP (original poster) dodged a bullet, I’m sad to say. I hope that in the future they find a partner who values ​​them as a person more than a shiny object.”