Elin Woods Ditches Her Diamond

It was only a matter of time, but the first sighting of Tiger Woods’ wife, Elin, hit the media universe and (surprise!), she was spotted without her wedding band and diamond engagement ring.

Many women have dealt with this very same dreaded diamond dilemma – when do you take off the rings when the marriage goes south?

Kate Gosselin wore hers way beyond her husband’s bad behavior made big news to send a symbol of strength to her kids. Some women toss theirs in a drawer at the first sign of trouble.

In Elin’s case? Well, she’s got more than her fair share of ‘trouble’ to deal with – but rumor has it she hasn’t thrown in the towel quite yet.

What would you do (or have you done) with your diamonds when it’s time to move on? Do you sell the rocks? Turn them into a different piece of jewelry? Toss the suckers? Weigh in!

Kate Gosselin Still Wears Her Diamond Wedding Ring

Despite her soon-to-be ex husband gallivanting all over tarnation with one cheeky woman after the next, a teary-eyed Kate Gosselin explained to Today Show host Meredith Viera this morning that she still wears her diamond wedding ring – for her 8 children.

“I don’t want to upset them. I don’t want to shock them. I’ve walked slowly through this with them. As they’ve asked questions, I’ve answered them.”

Gosselin said her kids know that the ring is her “married to daddy ring.”

“When the time is right, I’ll take it off,” she said.

Which begs the question: When is the right time to put away the diamond ring when the relationship it represents goes south?

Many women can’t wait to get the constant reminder of unhappiness off their ring fingers and throw the diamond in a drawer or take it straight to the pawnshop (see The Bachelorette/Bachelor series for more).

But then there are others, like Kate, who need a bit more time to get used to the idea of saying good-bye to something that has been with you for years – sometimes decades.

Do any of you have wedding ring retirement stories you’d like to share? Like most affairs of the heart, there is no right and wrong – just what feels good to you, I suppose. But my gut tells me that the sooner Kate can let go of that ring, the sooner she can move on and make her own life happy again.

Thoughts? Stories?