In light of 'divorce rings' - what's Molly-Mae going to do with her engagement ring?
Love Island stars Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury have announced their shock separation - leaving Gen Z followers quaking their boots.
The fashion and beauty influencer shared the news via social media on Wednesday. Addressing her 7.9 million followers, the 25-year-old wrote: "Never in a million years did I think I'd ever have to write this. I am extremely upset to announce that mine and Tommy's relationship has come to an end.”
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Meanwhile, Tommy wrote in a separate statement: "I am heartbroken to share that Molly & I have decided to end our relationship.”
"The past five years have led to us having our beautiful baby girl, Bambi and I will be forever thankful to Molly for making me a dad.”
Naturally, speculation began to swirl as to the reason behind the split. Yet, our concerns fell to the future of Molly-Mae’s jewellery box - more specifically her engagement ring.
The platinum band features delicate diamond pavé shoulders and is secured with four elegant claws. An elongated oval-cut diamond thought to be around 5-carats forms the focal point of the jewel, with some believing the stone to be a lab-grown diamond due to its cut, clarity and colour. Taylor & Hart estimate that the cost of the ring to be in the region of £200,000 - £250,000.
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What to come of the decadent jewel following the couple’s split? Well, if Emily Ratajkowski’s ‘divorce ring’ trend is anything to go by, we can expect Molly-Mae to repurpose the opulent piece.
Emily coined the new trend earlier this year, with her ‘divorce ring,’ acting as a bold statement piece symbolising empowerment and independence post-divorce.
Following her split from ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard in September 2022, the model deconstructed and refashioned the ring into two diamond rings with gold bands. Her original ring featured a pear-shaped and a princess cut diamond, with her new rings boasting the same pear-shaped cut and another with two extra diamonds fixed around a princess cut.
This trend reflects a broader cultural shift towards self-celebration and reclaiming personal identity after significant life changes. Many women are embracing the idea, using these rings as symbols of resilience and self-love, transforming a moment often associated with loss into one of strength and renewal.
Rosie Lillis, founder of jewellery PR brand Rosie Lillis Communications, says: “[Molly-Mae] might look to keep it and hand it down to her daughter or alternatively she might do like EmRata and have it made into a new ring that she can wear on another finger. A number of the jewellers that we work with are seeing an increased demand for ‘divorce rings’ whereby clients are repurposing their old engagement rings into new pieces of jewellery – be it another ring, a necklace or a pair of earrings.”
Is it easy to rehash an engagement ring? “Very easy,” Rosie says. “The diamonds or precious gemstones in the ring can be removed and set into a new design. Our client, sustainable fine jeweller Lylie, has seen a real increased demand for ‘divorce jewellery’. It's a great way of giving unwanted jewellery a new lease of life.”
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Lindsay Ferguson, Marketing Director atThe Diamond Store agrees: "With her engagement ending, we predict that she will repurpose her ring to create something new, fresh and liberating, such as a pendant necklace, or sell it to recoup some of its value and purchase another piece of jewellery equally as sentimental. It’s also a possibility that Molly-Mae may want to keep the ring and pass it down to Bambi as a sentimental gift that speaks to their mutual love for their child."
The brand has been so inspired by the stories of those who have chosen to celebrate their newfound confidence courtesy of single life, that it has launched 'The Dis-Engagement Ring,' a bespoke collection of one-of-a-kind diamond rings that symbolises new beginnings: "Many see [refashioning divorce rings] as a therapeutic process and with the strong symbolic power of jewellery, see it as a reminder to love themselves first."
While Molly-Mae muddles through the split, we can only speculate as to whether she will turn heartache into high fashion with a powerful new gem.
