The wedding ring can be a beautiful, romantic symbol of a couple’s commitment to each other. But is it practical? Or even safe? In a thread on the AskMen page on Reddit, guys have been sharing just how often they actually wear their wedding rings, and all the different reasons they have for removing them.
Some men responded that they wear theirs every day. “I practically never take mine off,” said one commenter, while another added: “I have been without my wedding ring for no more than a few minutes in total since I put it on 9 years ago.”
Others said that they wear theirs all of the time, except for when they’re swimming, or at the gym. And then there were some who hardly ever actually put theirs on.
“I haven’t worn mine in about 29.9 of our 30 years married except for the rare formal occasion when we are dressing up to go and she pulls it out of her jewelry box and hands it to me,” reads one comment, adding that they work as a mechanic and welder. “Jewelry doesn’t work for me, Id like to keep all of my fingers, if possible, and am usually too busy / hurried to remember to remove it.”
“I only take it off for rock climbing and that’s only because I got told off by a climbing instructor,” said one guy. “Apparently they can “deglove” your hand. Not something I wish to learn for myself.”
The risk of degloving or some other grisly injury is, it turns out, more common than you might think, and at the forefront of a lot of men’s minds when it comes to their wedding bands.
“My dad had to have his cut off by a jeweler, that’s how often he removed his. However, my father-in-law got his finger degloved at work because of his ring,” said one. “Lost the finger, kept the bent ring.”
Prompted by a few other horror stories on the thread, one commenter recommended silicone wedding rings as an alternative to metal.”I’m a firefighter by trade and I’ve seen an AVULSED FINGER early in my career to know I never want that!” He said. “I wear my silicone band 99% of the time and my Cobalt wedding band on nights out with the wife/special occasions. The silicone is very comfortable for a minimalist like myself, cheap, and easily replaceable.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues.
