When you exchange vows with someone, you’re making a forever commitment to the other person that’s represented by your wedding ring. While there’s no hard and fast rule that says you have to wear one, most married couples do. However, some men take theirs off when they’re not with their wives, and while the reason seems pretty clear to most women, men come up with some pretty bad excuses for this behavior. Here are some of the most common.
1. They hate wearing jewelry.
Is it possible that they really do dislike jewelry to the extent that even a simple gold or silver band around one of their fingers is cramping their style? Sure, in theory. In reality, most male wedding bands are incredibly basic and unadorned with anything too bling-y that would stand out, so this one doesn’t really hold water.
2. It doesn’t fit properly and it’s uncomfortable.
Sure, maybe they gained weight, lost it, or underwent some other life change that means their wedding band doesn’t fit quite as well as it used to. Luckily, there are plenty of jewelers out there who can adjust the size of their ring to make it more comfortable to wear in a jiffy. Claiming that they’re not wearing their ring because it doesn’t fit is just a lame excuse, especially since there’s a very quick and obvious solution to the problem staring them right in the face.
3. Their wives don’t wear theirs either.
When guys say this, their wives are conveniently not around for you to tell whether or not this is the truth. However, why is it a tit-for-tat situation anyway? Just because their wives aren’t wearing their rings (if that’s true) doesn’t mean they can’t wear theirs. This is just a way of escaping accountability for their shady actions.
4. It’s an outdated practice.
This is a very clever excuse guys use for not wearing their wedding rings, especially since many modern feminists will agree that wedding rings are an ancient but largely pointless tradition. Sure, there’s symbolism there — it showcases that you’ve committed yourself to another person for the rest of your life — but they’re also seen as misogynistic and outdated by many. However, you can pretty much guarantee that most men using this excuse haven’t done their homework about this and are just looking for a quick ‘get out of jail free’ card here.
5. They can’t do their jobs with it on.
If Guy Fieri and Jamie Oliver can prep food with their rings on, you can type your finance report with yours on, dudes. Sure, there are legitimate occasions in which jewelry is inconvenient or even banned from the workplace (i.e. surgeons, massage therapists, etc.), but most men who say this are just full of bologna.
6. They forgot it at home.
For most people, a wedding ring is one accessory you never actually remove. Once it’s placed on by your spouse on your wedding day, it stays there until you die (barring any must-remove situations). In other words, it’s pretty hard to “forget” it at home. We’re not talking about your AirPods or your turkey sandwich for lunch here.
7. It’s not insured and they don’t want it to get stolen.
This is a weird one, but there are plenty of guys who pull this one. Even the priciest of rings will only run you about $100 a year to insure, so unless he’s Jay-Z and trying to insure a diamond-encrusted, 100-carat band, this is BS. The idea that they can’t bear to put it on their finger lest, what, they’re mugged in broad daylight for their basic gold ring is laughable, but that won’t stop many guys from using it as an excuse.
8. Women won’t hit on them if they wear it.
Yes, there are actually some guys dim enough to admit this. They know that wearing a wedding ring will be an immediate repelleant to 99% of women, so they either want the attention anyway or they plan on cheating and know that a ring-free hand is going to up their chances of finding some action on a night out. Gross.
9. It doesn’t prove their commitment.
In a way, they’re correct with this one. Men in wedding rings can betray their partners just as easily as men without them. However, placing a ring on their finger sends the message to the rest of the world that they’re committed, and it wards off advances (from most self-respecting women, anyway) and shows that they’re quite happily taken. Taking it off implies that they’re either ashamed about being married or that they’re regretting their decision, which doesn’t inspire much confidence.
10. They want to keep their private lives private.
Since when is being married a secret? Some guys will claim that they eschew wearing their wedding rings because they don’t want people knowing their “business.” All you’re telling people is that you’ve exchanged vows with someone, guys. You’re not sharing the last thing you fought about or what your wife looks like in the morning. Give it a rest with the lame excuses.
11. They’re allergic to it.
More like allergic to being committed to their weives. Surely they must have known about this “allergy” before they bought the ring? This one just doesn’t hold water. If you’re allergic to a ring, you don’t buy it. And if you discover it after the fact in some weird way, you go and get another one. This is not an acceptable excuse, but nice try.
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