Woman Finds 'Engagement Ring' in Husband's Car—Then She Discovers the Truth

A woman sent the internet into meltdown following the discovery of an "engagement ring" in her husband's car that most definitely wasn't hers.

But while the find quickly sparked wild speculation and calls for drastic action, she soon discovered the unexpected truth about the mysterious jewelry.

Engagement rings are a big deal to most American couples. According to a jewelry and engagement study conducted by wedding planning website The Knot, based on user data, the average cost of an engagement ring in the U.S. in 2023 was roughly $5,500.

Read more: How to Finance an Engagement Ring

Given that kind of outlay, it was perhaps understandable that Nadia Agafonov's husband would be a little perturbed after finding an engagement ring in his car.

There was just one problem though: it wasn't hers.

Agafonov, who lives near Seattle with her husband of over 10 years and four kids, decided to share the dilemma to TikTok.

In a video shared under the handle nadiaagafonov, she revealed how her husband had sent her a picture of the ring asking: "did you lose your ring in my car?"

The problem was that she was wearing her ring when she got the text. Writing alongside the clip, she asked: "Are you the type to get jealous? How should I react? I always say innocent until proven guilty. We shall see."

Agafonov told Newsweek she posted the clip to TikTok "to see how others would react if they were in that situation" and wasn't necessarily accusing her husband of being up to no good.

"I fully trust my husband," she said. "We have a great solid marriage. If I really had doubts I wouldn't post to TikTok."

That didn't prevent others on social media from having their say though with the video accumulating 6.3 million views and counting along with a glut of comments.

Some suspected foul play and urged Agafonov to say the ring is hers. "Say yes and keep it for yourself then do some secret digging to find out [whose] it is," one user wrote.

A second suggested, rather ominously: "Once upon a time, my grandfather had a 2nd secret family. The end."

Others, meanwhile, were simply shocked that her husband didn't know what her engagement ring looked like. "He doesn't recognize the ring he proposed to you with?" one asked incredulously with another commenting: "He doesn't know what your engagement ring looks like? Take that man out with the trash."

Agafonov was keen to defend her husband for failing to recognize her ring. "I have three rings in total and they are a bit different from one another so it does make sense that my husband couldn't really remember which one I'm wearing at any given time."

She reckons much of the video's popularity can be attributed to the fact there is "so much cheating going on these days" and also noticed how the incident highlighted the fact "some men are less perceptive than women" when it comes to jewelry.

More importantly, she was able to provide a logical explanation for how the ring ended up in her husband's car.

"My kids were playing outside and one of them found it and took it back home with them. They left it in the car door pocket and forgot about it," Agafonov said.

"They don't exactly remember where they found it. We go to many playgrounds, parks, trails and things like that and they like to look for rocks and other cool things. I asked friends and family and everyone said it's not theirs so I don't know who it belongs to."

In any case, whoever bought the ring didn't shell out $5,500. "The ring was tested and deemed cubic zirconium so it's super cheap," she said. "It's only maybe worth $5 to $10 so I doubt it has sentimental meaning to anyone."

Amused at the reaction to her video, Agafonov hopes her story teaches people on social media not to "jump to conclusions" before all the facts are established. "TikTok is for entertainment and should be taken with a grain of salt."