Broke ex slyly asked for 'ordinary' book as a 'sweet memory' of their marriage — she realized it was her grandad’s rare $1,152 LOTR edition
The ex-husband thought he could fool her one last time
People are not always upfront about what they want, and some requests come with hidden motives. In the case of divorcée u/LyndonHellBe, her ex-husband sweetly asked for a "keepsake" to remember their marriage by. The pair was parting ways, and she was packing up her things to move to a different house. She thought he wanted an old gift, or something sentimental. But when he asked for the book her "parents gave them," she knew he was up to something. The post was shared on August 7, 2026, and it received 5,500 upvotes and 337 comments.
Sweet liar
The author was packing her things when he texted her, "Hey, sorry to ask, I've been thinking about this for a while. Feel free to say no, but do you remember that copy of The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) your parents gave us? Would you mind if I kept it as a sweet little memory of us?" It rubbed her the wrong way because he knew it belonged to her late grandfather. He also knew it was the "only physical piece of my grandfather’s legacy I managed to keep." The author was not on speaking terms with her immediate family.
Wanted to cash it in
Secondly, it was not just a normal copy of LOTR. "This is a vintage, numbered, limited edition (1,000 copies) release, printed on India paper, complete with a certificate of authenticity." It was worth $1,152, and he knew that too because they had discussed it in the past. The reason why he wanted this "keepsake" was because he was broke. The author was appalled but not surprised. She obviously said no to his request, and he responded by saying that she was doing the right thing and "he was even grateful just for considering it." The author wanted to respond with an insult but decided to be the bigger person and left it at that.
Post-divorce dispute over things
Divorced couples may hold on to silly things because of their sentimental value. Madonna Law Group shared the story of a Nevada couple that fought over Beanie Babies in 1999. They had a collection that was worth $5,000. Since they could not decide how to split them, a judge asked the couple to bring the stuffed toys to court and have them pick one by one until all were gone.
Another couple fought over their chili pepper-shaped Christmas lights worth $40,000. Even though they had other assets to split, the sentimental value of the lights trumped everything else. A 2024 survey by Neighbor Blog found that 65% of respondents could not part with items that had sentimental value to them. 67% of men and 63% of women could not let go of items from people who were no longer in their lives.
'He chose that book as a momento due to the cash value'
Netizens warned the author to be careful with the book, just in case her ex-husband planned to steal it. u/OtherArt9142 commented, "I think the answer here is, 'No, but here’s another book you can have, it’s called 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Nerve of This B*tch!'' Best to you on your new and better path." u/EmploymentOk1421 wrote, "He chose that book as a momento due to the cash value and because he knew it would get a rise out of you. Move on with your life, and let him go!"
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