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Last week we told you about Colette DiPierro, the 28-year-old woman who called off her wedding but refused to give back her ring. Soon after your comments were pouring in from all over about whether or not she should give back the bling -- and why she's really holding onto it. Well, we thought: Why not ask her?

Here -- un-airbrushed -- is Colette's side of the story. Now tell us what you think.

Colette: So me and Chris [Reinhold] met in the summer of 2007. We broke up in September of last year. Before I received the ring, we had a contract -- an oral contract. Chris said, "You're going to save for the wedding hall, you're going to pay all the bills, pay the rent, pay for all household utilities and food ... and I'm going to pay for this wedding ring. I really want to get you, like, the best wedding ring that I can possibly get you."

So I said to him, "You know it doesn't matter what kind of wedding ring you get me. It matters if you love me or not." And he said, "No, no. I really want to get you the nicest ring. I want it to even be better than my brother's." Because he was always in competition with his brother. So I said, "OK, whatever you want to do. Just don't overdo it, OK?"

We moved into his apartment, which was under his lease, and I paid for everything. On my birthday, I got the engagement ring as a present. He said, "Happy Birthday." He did not get down on a knee, and I mean, that was the story.

After that, I wanted him to start help paying for me things, too. I mean, he makes a really good salary himself. Now I thought he could help start saving to pay for the wedding hall, or put down a down payment on a house. We booked the wedding hall even before we were engaged.

What did he say to that?
He didn't like that answer. So when I started to get smart to the idea -- he was buying things for himself, and everything I had was going to pay for our expenses, so I said, "Listen, so when are going to keep your end of the bargain up?" He took a turn for the worse: He was just a totally different person.

So we broke up in September, and I said, "Listen I'm going to hold the ring as collateral until you pay me back what you owe me. I said, "I understand that it was a conditional thing that was based upon the condition to get married. And we're not getting married. So I will give it back because it doesn't have any meaning to me." Because all the meaning a ring should have, this has no meaning. So he said, "That's fine, that's fine." And then he never really kept his end of the bargain.

One day when I was at work, he came into the house and just totally ransacked it and took all the stuff out. And then after that, it became like "Do you want to do this through mediation? Because I'm not going to deal with you directly." And he says, "No, I'm going to take you to court." So that's where we left off, and that was back in October.

And how long was your entire relationship?
About two and a half years. We met in the summer of 2007, and we broke up in the very end of September of 2009.

So as far as the ring, you said he didn't get down on one knee, which is why you think the ring was more of a birthday gift? Exactly, and also it was the only birthday gift I got on my birthday. And the other thing is that he didn't even give a card, nothing. We actually had a disagreement earlier that day, so he threw the ring at me and said, "Happy Birthday." And I said, "Oh don't do it like that" because I kind of knew what was coming. So I mean it really, really was a gift.

So if he pays you back, would you be more than happy to give the ring back?
Well, at this point because of the fact that he really tried to turn my life upside-down again. You have to understand that when you're in love with the person, and you're doing everything to make something work, you don't realize until one day you wake up and you say, "Wait a minute, this isn't right. This is not what love is about. This guy is using me."

I made myself very sick. I ended up with a dire condition for a while like I only weighed 100 pounds. And I got through all of it. I went to work every day with a smile on my face. And finally rather than him doing what's fair, he walks away and says, "All right, you're beat." That's what he tells me. "You're beat. I want my ring. I'll get my ring back or else, and I'm not giving you anything. You're beat." So that's pretty much the situation right now. So I said, "You know what, if you can't come to the realization that this is a contract that we had, and I kept my end of the agreement, then fine, take me to court, but I'm holding onto the ring until you give me back what's mine. You're not going to get off scot free. I suffered all two years paying every single thing."

I don't even have anything saved, and we didn't have new bills. I was paying his down, his credit cards, everything.

What do you hope to accomplish after all of this?
I hope to be able to get past all of this and be strong enough to move on and not linger in the past. Because a lot of people from broken relationships, they get really depressed. They can't really function anymore. Initially that was my goal – to go back to normal, return back to my innocence and be the person that I always was. I was working on that, and I finally felt like, "Wow I'm so happy in my life again." And I just came back from vacation, and that's when I got served with the papers. And it was like, "Oh no, it's happening all over again. This person has so much control over my life. I hate this."

If you end up with the ring in the end of all of this, what do you plan to do with it?
Honestly I want nothing to do with the ring. [Laughs] To be honest, I'm just holding onto the ring as a matter of principle. I think that if I really did get to keep the ring, I feel as though I'd use it for something positive. Maybe I'll sell it and donate money to stuff. Or I'll just sell it and help my family get out of debt. My father's out of work for some time, and I have been taking care of my sister as well because the economy has been really rough. Maybe I'm going to work on my family first and then try to go outward with it. I'm not really exactly sure but definitely something positive with it.