10 must-click love and relationship links.

Knockoff no-no: Four factory employees were arrested in China for producing and selling condoms that provide almost no protection against pregnancy or disease. Read on to find out what these fake condoms were lubricated with. [TresSugar]

Don't put your wedding ring in a disposable cup. Garbage men sifted through 10 tons of garbage to locate a ring that a woman's husband accidentally threw away. [Asylum]

Earlier this week, Congress passed an amendment that could compromise women's reproductive rights. Em & Lo summarize what you need to know about it. [Em & Lo]

Busted: A man … Read More

The ring is a powerful item. It has no beginning and no end. It's usually made of metal and it says a lot more about a person than any other jewelry (except for, perhaps, a crown).

Men have been known to order their own fingers be removed rather than sacrifice their rings. Men tiny in stature but large in heart have marched to the end of the (Middle) Earth for the sake of a ring. And men have even been known to take off their wedding rings lest they sully it by hitting on women with it upon their fingers*.

But a … Read More

The Jon & Kate Plus 8 disintegrate saga continues (mostly because we refuse to let it go).

First of all, has anyone ever wasted good will the way Jon Gosselin has? Four months ago, he had a nation's sympathy and could write his own check. He started by getting spotted waste-y-faced with college students. Then he dated the 22-year old daughter of his wife's plastic surgeon (Ms. Hailey Glassman), in France, no less. And then he was spotted with a reporter for the tabloid Star (Ms. Kate Major), in the Hamptons, no less.

According to HollywoodLife.com, Kate Major resigned … Read More

Attention Men: Make sure you get those rings insured! Props to this romance-inspired guy for pulling out all the stops on his wedding proposal. After celebrating his 29th birthday at a dinner with family and friends, Don invited his girlfriend on a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, reports NBC's Today Show, only to have the ring slip beneath cracks in the bridge. Don knew precisely how he wanted to pop the marriage question. In line with tradition, he got down on one knee. What he hadn't planned for was the ring tumbling out of the box, off … Read More

Ever know someone who didn't want to wear a wedding ring because it didn’t go with their outfit? Well, neither had we until Jennifer Lopez just came out in defense of her marriage. The star reports that she didn’t wear her wedding ring this past Sunday on the Golden Globes Red Carpet because it didn’t go with her dress. She tells In Touch Weekly that "Every time I’m not wearing my ring, people think I’m getting divorced. That’s crazy. It just didn’t go with the dress. Divorce is not and was never an option."

We … Read More

Actress Megahn Perry had no idea what to do with jewelry she'd received from her ex-husband. She certainly couldn't wear her wedding ring and the pawnshop was a nightmare. So she started ExBoyfriendJewelry.com as a Person-to-Person platform for unloading jewelry with baggage. The Craigslist of the scorned, if you will.

There are guys (and gals!) out there who do not wear wedding rings. Some of them have never had a ring (weird hand-fasting ceremonies, etc) and some just choose not to encircle the fourth finger on their left hand with a hunk of precious or semi-precious metal. I'm sure you know a few of them and their reasoning may even make sense. But a lot of the rationale is BS and doesn't really hold up in the light of day. Here are our top ten excuses for not wearing a wedding ring.

10) The Protection Racket: Insurance is expensive and … Read More

When I set out as an engaged person, I swore I was the anti-bride. I didn’t want to get swept up in all the hoop-la of planning a wedding—and turn into a national youtube bridezilla phenomenon. I think I’ve done a pretty good job keeping my cool, but it’s impossible (if you’re having a somewhat traditional wedding, like we are) to ignore the details all together. At some point you actually have to do stuff—and that point was this past weekend.

Fred and I finally went to Men’s Wearhouse and picked out his and groomsmen’s … Read More

I'm back from a girlfriend getaway in paradise. Traveling with a best friend off the beaten path awakened joy in me and soothed my soul, but it also left me wondering: Why can't I capture that sense of fun and wonder in everyday life? Why do I feel so stuck here in Boston, yet I was free as a bird in Mexico?

One idea: I took off my wedding ring while traveling. I think my naked ring finger gave rise to more open responses and deeper interactions than I would have otherwise experienced.

… Read More

Recently my unattached friend Katie told me that she had taken a trip to Tiffany's, solo, to try on diamond engagement rings. I shot her a look. "But they're just so sparkly!" she protested, deeply in lust.

Before another friend's bachelorette party, doing fact-?nding for the old "How Well Do You Know Each Other?" game, I asked her groom-to-be what was the best gift he’d ever given her. "The rock, of course," he replied instantly.

Later on, his ?ancée's answer lined up neatly: "That’s gotta be my ring!" she shouted to a limo full of hooting, nodding female heads, … Read More