The press have made a bit of a mountain out of a molehill this week as they continue to give acres of coverage to poor Cheryl Cole after she decided to take her wedding ring off during recent X Factor filming.

Now she’s had to justify the whole thing with an infamous posting on Twitter with the caption “Diamonds are Forever” (A quick aside, how annoying is it that she still looks beautiful even with her hand over her face!).

It got me thinking about symbolism and the way we physically demonstrate our marriage. Does Cheryl Cole, a woman so famous we think we know everything about her, really need to wear her wedding ring all of the time? We all know she’s married, thanks to OK! Magazine we felt like we were there! So why are we obsessing (or at least why is the media obsessing) over what this means?

I suppose it varies from couple to couple and how each of us want to display our relationship. My husband and I often take off our wedding rings; we don’t wear them to bed (my engagement ring which I absolutely adore often catches me if I wear it sleeping) and after an incident at my yoga class where I cut myself with my diamond (don’t ask!) I don’t wear it when I’m working out either.

My husband has no issues about this, nor do I about his decision not to wear his ring in bed, when he’s exercising or when he’s cleaning up, but then I know people who have completely contrasting views, a close friend of mine refuses to ever take off her wedding band.

Is it archaic to expect people to wear something that says “I’m taken”, just as women in ancient Egypt would wear glass bracelets around their wrists to show that they were off-limits? Or has it gone too far the other way, are modern women (arguably like Cheryl) devaluing such a precious piece of jewelry and turning it into a fashion accessory?

What do you think? Let us have your thoughts on the symbolism of your wedding band: hello@thegreatestday.co.uk

PS: Did you know that people wear wedding rings on their left third finger because there’s a belief that a vein from that finger is directly connected to the heart!