‘My husband got into a car accident, so I remarried and became his caretaker’

“I knew that I would always love Brandon and wanted to honour my vows of caring and loving for him through sickness and in health,” Kristen says in the viral clip. 

Kristen and Brandon are still together, but ot the way they could have predicted. Source: followmetothemouse/ TikTok, Michael Smyer

When Kristen met Brandon, she instantly fell in love. She was 16, and he was 15; high school sweethearts and attached at the hip. 

They married in 2006 and were in bliss for two years before the unimaginable happened. 

When Brandon was 23, he was involved in a serious and life-threatening car accident, leaving him in a coma for two months and with a severe traumatic brain injury.

Two years after the horrific accident, Kristen made the decision to divorce him. But she’s never left his side. 

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Woman divorces husband to become his caretaker

“He worked so hard to try and regain simple things that we all take for granted,” Kristen recalled.

“Even though Brandon’s doctors warned me that if he did wake up, he would be forever changed because of his severe traumatic brain injury, I held onto hope that a miracle would happen and he’d be the same Brandon,” she told Today. “But he wasn’t.” 

He was moved into a nursing care facility, leaving an enormous hole in Kristen’s heart and “hit by this train of sadness.”

“I was grieving a living person, and that was very complicated and isolating,” she said.  

“Brandon now needs total care; he needs help eating, toileting, dressing, and transferring,” she said in a TikTok. “He has a difficult time communicating and has a lot of short-term memory issues.” 

After two years of helping her husband recover, she made the “heart-wrenching” decision to divorce her husband. 

“I longed for a family, children, a partner,” she said in the viral clip. Although she decided to file a divorce from Brandon, she was never planning on leaving him. 

Instead, she became his legal guardian.  

“I knew that I would always love Brandon and wanted to honour my vows of caring and loving for him through sickness and in health,” she said. 

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Brandon's car accident left him with severe and permanent brain damage. Source: followmetothemouse/TikTok

“He's like one of our kids, we love him the same”

It’s been 15 years since the horrific accident, and Kristen has since remarried, welcoming a stepson and two children of their own to the world.  

And just as she promised all those years ago, she has never left Brandon’s side. 

He visits the family home every week, with Kristen, her husband James and three kids regularly taking Brandon out for a meal together as a family.

Kristen and Brandon understand their relationship has changed over the years, but their love for each other remains stronger than ever. 

“Several years ago, he randomly started calling me ‘Little Sis’,” she said in her TikTok. “I think the word ‘brother’ now better defines our relationship.” 

Despite the unusual circumstances, the family has held Brandon close, who quickly became another member of the family. 

“He's like one of our kids, we love him the same,” said James. “He's a central part of our family; he’s a central part of our lives.” 

He and the family help Brandon with everyday tasks like eating and drinking, and their three kids love him like an uncle. 

“These little girls adore him,” said Kristen. “My stepson, too — he comes with me to the nursing home, and he's getting Brandon drinks and hugging him.” 

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The family has embraced Brandon as one of their own. Source; followmetothemouse/TikTok

“Sometimes love doesn't leave, it just changes”

Kristen’s videos have quickly gained attention online, with adoring fans labelling her a “f**king hero” and sharing their admiration for the family. 

“I feel like he gave you a gift when he called you lil sis,” read a comment. “Letting you know he knows the relationship has changed and that it’s okay to move on.”

“Your story is beautiful,” said another. 

“My instinct was to be put off by your decision, but as I thought, I don't think anyone could possibly know how they'd handle it unless they live it!” wrote a third. 

“Thank you for showing what unconditional love looks like.  People won't understand.” 

“Sometimes love doesn't leave, it just changes,” read a comment. “Sounds like it happened to you both.”

However, the entire situation put a bad taste in some peoples’ mouths, arguing Kristen broke her vows. 

“I’m torn,” wrote one woman. “I don’t know why you couldn’t get a surrogate or adopt. My husband has stayed right by my side through my sickness.”

“‘In sickness and in health’ is literally a wedding vow,” said another. 

In response, supporters hit back at the rude comments. 

“There's a lot of judgement here from ppl who have never had to face this reality,” someone defended Kristen. “You can't fill someone's cup without filling your own first.” 

“The vows don’t say ‘romance’,” another agreed. “You are embodying what lifelong love for another looks like. You are the best friend and family anyone could ask for.”

Originally published as ‘My husband got into a car accident, so I remarried and became his caretaker’