Carl Radke has defended his decision to ask for Lindsay Hubbard’s wedding ring after he broke off their engagement. About a week ago, Lindsay appeared on Watch What Happens Live to share that Carl “demanded” the ring back.
At the time, Lindsay discussed “New York law” vs. “etiquette.” She shared, “Legally, the ring belongs to him. Now, I did take it off pretty much immediately [and] gave it to my jeweler for safekeeping. And she gave it back to him when he emailed me and demanded it back.”
Perceptions of Carl and Lindsay’s breakup have changed quite a bit since the news first broke. Many Summer House viewers now see Carl as the victim in the relationship. So, defending the reclamation of the ring should’ve been easy, no?
Carl was criticized on WWHL for taking the ring back
During his recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Carl said of the ring, “It’s my property, and I wrote her an email one-on-one and asked for the ring back.” Trishelle Cannatella interrupted him to say how disagreeable she found “that rule.” Still, Carl doubled down, saying, “It is the law in New York state.”
He continued, “If I purchase the ring, it’s given to the condition of an engagement. We did not move forward with the wedding, [so] the ring is then belonged to me and that’s the law, so I was just following the law.” Even though it’s a complicated issue, Carl is technically correct.
As lawyer Michael DiFalco explains, “New York state considers an engagement ring a ‘conditional gift.’ The ownership of the ring is conditioned on whether a marriage occurs. This means that the person who receives the ring has the right of possession only once the marriage has happened. When the two people are married, the ‘conditional gift’ turns into marital property.”
Of course, wedding rings are expensive. Anyone would want that purchase back if given the opportunity. And if New York state law weren’t a factor, who knows if Lindsay would’ve given it back in the first place?
Summer House continues Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
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