In the recent case of RI v NG (2025), the family court addressed the return of jewellery and an engagement ring worth approximately £68,000. 

An engagement ring is usually presumed to be a gift unless one party can show that it was given on the condition, express or implied, that it should be returned if the marriage does not take place. The court was satisfied in this case that the engagement ring was given to Ms NG on the condition it would be returned if the marriage did not occur. 

Mr RI claimed his whirlwind romance with Ms NG led to an engagement, and that the parties planned to marry in May 2024. However, when Ms NG called off the wedding in April 2024, he asked for the engagement ring and wedding jewellery back. Ms NG’s position was that the parties were never engaged, and that the ring was given to her as a gift. She claimed there was no impending wedding, and that Mr RI planned the wedding without her consent. 

In response to Ms NG’s claims, Mr RI produced evidence of social media posts showing Ms NG wearing the engagement ring and in which she referred to Mr IG as her “future husband”, an email where she referred to Mr RI as her fiancé, and an email from Chelsea Old Town Hall confirming the wedding date. Ultimately, the court found Mr RI to be a more credible witness.

The judge concluded that the parties were in fact engaged, and that Ms NG called off the wedding. As a result, the presumption that an engagement ring was a gift was rebutted. The court ordered the return of the engagement ring and the other jewellery within 7 days, or payment of their value.

This case serves as a stark reminder that engagements carry legal implications and illustrates how the court could handle property disputes when love fades. 

So, is an engagement ring a gift? Well, as ever in the family court, it depends…