Shekeb might not be ready to pop the question to girlfriend Emily, but he wants to show how strong his feelings are with a promise ring – that is if mom Laila will let him shell out the money. In a PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of Monday’s I Love a Mama’s Boy, Shekeb takes his mother to the jewelry store to pick out a symbol of his love, despite her reservations about Emily.
“I wanna start with a promise ring for now, ’cause it’s gonna take some time for my mom and Emily to build a relationship together,” Shekeb tells the camera of his intentions before explaining to jeweler Rus the message he wants to send Emily is “Hey, you are the one, just hold on for a second. Just not right now.”
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Laila totally backs her son waiting on marriage, telling the camera, “Even I know that Emily is not right for Shekeb. Still, I can go shopping, because I wanna see Shekeb’s happy and he needs my help [with] how to spend money for Emily. You always can look for less.” Shekeb tells Rus that originally, Emily was looking at a $40,000 ring, which took him completely by surprise, but not Laila, who hears the story with a frown on her face. “With $40,000 he can make like a down payment,” she tells Rus. “He can get a house.”
Shekeb tells the jeweler that Emily is looking for a “ring to show off to everybody,” which means “the more bling the better,” even on a budget. When Rus suggests looking at wedding bands as a promise ring alternative, Shekeb is on board for the $750 price tag given, but Laila still thinks that’s too much to spend on Emily.
“That’s actually not bad, we’re going from $40,000 to $750,” Shekeb reasons, with Laila responding, “No, it is too much to spend for Emily. Maybe like around $500?” Shekeb notes that lowering the budget so far might result in a lesser-quality ring, but Laila isn’t budging. The entire mother-son interaction is unusual, Rus admits to the camera.
“It’s not uncommon for people to come in with their mother to shop for an engagement ring, but it is a little uncommon for the mother to have so much say in what the final decision is gonna be,” he confesses.ย I Love a Mama’s Boy airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
