A 23-year-old woman’s dream proposal turned into a medical emergency when her engagement ring cut off the circulation to her finger — and almost cost her the digit entirely.
Corporate banker Iona Hadaway had just said “yes” to boyfriend of eight months Jacob Bugliarello at an Italian restaurant in Crewe, Cheshire. But the romance soured within hours when the ring — several sizes too small — left her finger throbbing, ballooning and stuck.
“I knew it was a bit too small but I forced it on anyway because it’s exciting isn’t it?” she told local media. “I wanted the ring on.”
After visiting both families to show off the sparkler, Hadaway realised her finger was swelling dangerously. Unable to remove the silver band, she and Bugliarello rushed to Crewe Leighton Hospital, where staff tried everything from Fairy Liquid to string-pulling tricks to free it.
Nothing worked. Doctors warned her that overnight the finger could die, and had no choice but to cut the ring off — just hours after she vowed never to remove it. “I could have lost my finger,” she said.
The couple, who met in January, are now saving for a house and planning a 2027 wedding. Hadaway says she feels “engaged but not engaged” without her ring, but is thankful the proposal didn’t happen on their upcoming Turkey holiday: “Otherwise I’d have ended up in a hospital in Turkey.”
