Woman donates kidney to save her ex-husband years after their divorce

Saint Paul, Jan 9: Mary Zeigler might have seen her long marriage with Bill Henrichs getting over a long time ago, but still she did not hesitate to stand by the latter when it mattered the most. She came forward to help her former husband with a kidney donation.

According to a report in People.com, Mary and Bill met each other when they were just 14 and married each other when they turned 18. The duo from Minnesota then had two children - Matthew and Macy - and slowly their love for each other faded, the two told FOX 9.

The couple eventually decided to part ways after staying together for 24 years and Mary, now 62, said: "Bill's very cerebral. I'm very athletic and we just, you know, had less and less things in common."

"When you're 18, you're one person. And when you're 40, you're an entirely different person. That's what happened to us. We got older and we became totally different people," she told Inside Edition.

The couple however decided to remain friends with each other even after their divorce so that they children were not affected and Bill remarried with Linda joining the household as his second wife.

In fact, Mary and Linda also got together and Bill told FOX 9 that he trusted them both and was convinced that there would not be any strange issues.

However, a moment came some two decades after their divorce when Bill was in need of a kidney and there was no match to help him till Mary came forward and she was found to be a perfect match to help her former husband.

"For me, it wasn't even a decision," Mary said while speaking on his decision to undergo an operation to save her ex-husband. "It was kinda like him calling up and saying, 'can you come over and help us rake leaves?' That's how I think of it."

The operation took place successfully in October and Mary hoped other couples may also see a positive that can happen when they keep a friendly relation with their ex-spouses.