‘Didn’t think it was on his hand’: Less than 6 hours after getting married, bride watches a slew of people cut her husband’s ring off his finger

Recently, an Australian couple made waves on TikTok after their wedding day ended in the emergency room. As the bride, Zara (@zaraneli) noted in the caption, “Not even 6hrs married and my husband gets his ring cut off.” At the start of the video, which reached over 350K views, we see Stephen, the groom, rub a noticeably swollen ring finger while a medical professional asks in the background, “Can I get put through to the local fire station, please?”

The TikToker told the story, mostly through overlay text over multiple clips of nurses and the fire department working to remove Stephen’s gold-plated Tungsten ring. The first attempt was shears, which made Zara write, “This nurse was lovely but he rlly thought he has superhuman strength.” In the next attempt, the nurse laughed and squirted a gel on Stephen’s hand, saying, “This is… uh… KY jelly we are trying right now.” As Zara noted, “Lube didn’t work.”

The medical staff kept trying. They tried a TikTok trick that uses string as leverage. When that failed, they found a ring saw. However, the tungsten proved too strong, even breaking the saw halfway through. Through it all, Stephen’s finger just got more and more swollen, and the overlay text announces, “Time to bring in the big boys.” At that point, Zara edits in a clip of three firemen striding into the treatment room, cheekily noting, “Firies have entered the chat.”

It was a situation they were mostly familiar with

As they studied Stephen’s hand, Zara couldn’t help but ask, “Does this happen more often than not?” To which one of the firemen responded, “You’d be surprised.” When she exclaimed, “Oh really?” in surprise, the one working on the ring joked, “We didn’t think it was on his hand…” That made Zara laugh helplessly. The team then pulled out a towel, water, and a bigger saw, and some time later, Stephen was holding two halves of the ring.

This experience highlights the specific risks associated with tungsten rings. According to Martha Stewart, while tungsten is popular for its durability, scratch resistance, and affordability, it comes with significant drawbacks. It is brittle and can shatter if struck under certain conditions. Additionally, it can’t be resized. 

Most importantly, as noted by Martha Stewart, tungsten rings are very hard and notoriously difficult to cut. Thus, they cannot be removed with standard ring cutters. While emergency professionals have the equipment to handle these situations, it is a point of concern for those who might need to remove a ring in a hurry.

The struggle to find the right fit is also a common issue for many people, which can lead to situations like the one Stephen faced. Brilliant Earth emphasized that factors like temperature and time of day play a major role in how a ring fits. Fingers naturally expand when warm or after certain activities, so it is best to measure toward the end of the day when fingers are at their largest. 

Brilliant Earth also recommended testing for knuckle fit, as the ring needs to clear the knuckle comfortably without being too loose at the base of the finger. If you are between sizes, the jeweler noted that it is generally better to size up, as rings are typically easier to resize down than up. Interestingly, a Cartier salesman allegedly tried to use ring sizes to fat-shame a woman.

TikTok was incredibly amused by the situation. One user commented, “He could’ve just said no at the altar, he didn’t have to be dramatic.” Others couldn’t get past the fact that the firemen had experience with this. A TikToker wrote, “we didnt think it was on his hand had me rolling.” Another shared, “So I was today years old when I learnt that fire fighters remove stuck jewellery.”

Others talked of the cons of Tungsten. One claimed, “My hubby wanted a tungsten ring too but our jeweller advised him against it because it’s near impossible to remove in case of emergencies.” Another wrote, “this is why I never recommended tungsten rings when I worked in jewellery. so glad everything was ok!”

Despite the chaos, the couple seemed to maintain a sense of humor throughout. Zara captured Stephen holding the two halves of his ring, and Zara joked in the overlay, “Good luck to us on the insurance claim.” Then, before leaving, one of the firefighters jokingly suggested, “If you have kids, Joshua is a nice name.” As Zara concluded the video, she only had one thought: “But grateful for our NSW nurses and firemen!’