What Happened to Those Famous Engagement Rings After the Breakup?

They say expectations are nothing but premeditated resentments. When it comes to celebrity relationships, especially, it’s best to keep those in check. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the fine details put into these red-carpet romances. The engagement ring, for instance, is a significant symbol that marks the beginning of what could potentially be a love story for the ages. You saw how we obsessed over Selena Gomez’s marquise-cut diamond solitaire and Zendaya’s east-west cushion-cut diamond ring.

Ahead, we look back at some of the high-profile exes who prove that while relationships end, diamonds are forever.

KIM KARDASHIAN AND KRIS HUMPHRIES

Does anyone remember the diabolical marriage of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries? We do. The circus of a romance took up a good chunk of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2011. The wedding was even televised in a two-part special on E!—only for the couple to call it quits 72 days after they exchanged vows. In a recent episode of The Kardashians, the business mogul pondered on her past relationships and it wasn’t long before the 16.21-carat emerald-cut diamond ring Humphries proposed to her with came up.

Sharing that she had to return the Lorraine Schwartz ring to the former basketball player in order for him to sign off on the divorce, she dropped a truth bomb that she actually paid for the ring herself—he only contributed a fifth of the price. As for the 12- and 15-carat cushion-cut rings she received from her other ex-husbands, music producer Damon Thomas and rapper Kanye West, respectively, she alluded to still having them in her jewellery box. She even plans on passing down the latter to her daughter North West.

MARIAH CAREY AND JAMES PACKER

Your favourite singer’s favourite singer Mariah Carey has had her fair share of fairytale romances. Her relationships with record label executive Tommy Mottola and television host Nick Cannon, albeit ill-fated, did materialise in marriages. While the whereabouts of the respective million-dollar emerald-cut diamond ring and the 17-carat emerald-cut pink diamond ring by Jacob & Co. remain a mystery, one might find some clues in the way she handled the breakup with her last beau, Australian billionaire James Packer.

Parting ways merely months after announcing their engagement in 2016, Carey and Packer did not seem to end things on…a high note. The pop diva reportedly sold the $10 million ring, which featured a 35-carat diamond, to a Los Angeles jeweller for a measly $2.1 million. Now, if you think that was cold, you must’ve forgotten about the ‘I Don’t’ music video she released a year after the split, in which she could be seen lighting the Valentino gown she was supposed to wear to the wedding on fire.

JENNIFER LOPEZ AND BEN AFFLECK

Call her the Thanos of showbiz because she’s collecting diamonds like they’re infinity stones. Jennifer Lopez’s love life is truly one for the books—one that has been said to rival that of Elizabeth Taylor’s. Closing the latest chapter in her story, she recently finalised her divorce from Ben Affleck, effectively ending the ‘what could’ve been’ whirlwind romance after their initial separation in 2004. The divorce settlement granted Lopez complete control of her assets and that includes her $5.6 million engagement ring.

Lopez’s savvy in navigating her high-profile relationships is equal parts intimidating and inspiring. On top of the green diamond ring, she is still in possession of the 6-carat pink diamond ring Affleck gave her back in 2002. The ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’ singer has also reportedly kept each ring from the six proposals she received. Those include the Harry Winston ring with an 8.5-carat blue diamond from Marc Anthony and the 15-carat emerald-cut diamond ring from former baseball player Alex Rodriguez.

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