It is not every day that we come across exceptional stories that leave an impact. Some heartwarming stories restore our faith in the kindness of the universe. This time, the tale is from the US state of Texas, where a husband moved in with his wife’s severely crippled ex-husband and committed to taking care of him, even bathing and changing his clothes.
In 2016, James Armstrong married Kris, but their wedding had a peculiar agreement. Brandon, Kris’s high school love and ex-husband, suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident just two years after they were married in 2006. Brandon was thus left with severely impaired mental and physical abilities and was unable to take care of himself.
Kris described it to PEOPLE as being similar to a “nightmare.”
She supported him throughout the recovery process and switched careers to become a speech therapist but after several years she concluded that he would never be able to recover to the point where they could have a normal relationship.
Kris, who had been Brandon’s wife for years, felt she had to go on with her life but was unwilling to give up on him. Furthermore, due to financial constraints that she was unable to surmount, as well as her wish to have children, Kris decided to divorce Brandon. She then proceeded to become his legal guardian in 2010.
At one of the last court hearings, she was asked a certain question, Kris told CBS News. The judge asked her “What will you do if you have a family someday?” The court questioned her about whether she would be able to care for Brandon. “I told her nothing’s going to change,” Kris stated.
Then in 2014, she met James Armstrong who was then a single parent of a little child and nothing changed at all. Brandon was the first matter she mentioned to him.
James stated to PEOPLE, “She was honest from the start. It was either accept or don’t accept.”
Kris revealed to PEOPLE that when James initially met Brandon, the three of them visited church together. Kris stepped away to use the restroom, and when she returned, she noticed James’ arm around Brandon’s neck, which, as per Kris, “sealed the deal.”
The couple married on September 5, 2015, and welcomed their two kids a few years later. James also has a child from an earlier relationship.
As Kris told PEOPLE, James calls Brandon his brother and has shown him nothing but love and kindness.
James recalls pouring his heart out to Brandon after seeing him in a wheelchair, not present mentally most of the time and unable to care for himself. He went on to explain that he hopes Brandon does not see him as the bastard who has taken his wife, but he is unable to express himself verbally.
Kris began creating TikTok videos about her life with Brandon last year, with James’ consent. She claims that although Brandon is in a care facility around ten minutes away from the family and requires round-the-clock care, she frequently takes him home.
Every year, when she files her guardianship paperwork with the judge, she adds a photo of herself and her husband with their children and Brandon. She claims, “I still love him, and he’s very much a part of our family.”
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