A Texas woman turned an extremely sour relationship sweet by donating a kidney to her ex-husband's girlfriend.
Amanda McCowen had animosity towards her ex-husband's new girlfriend, Angela Maples. They couldn't even be in the same room at one point.
'We had a very rocky start,' McCowen, 37, told the Washington Post. 'I had formed the opinion in my brain when I first met her that I don't like her, I'm not going to share my two older children with her.'
McCowen had a tense decade-long relationship with Maples and her ex-husband, caused mainly by custody issues with their children.
The hostility began to soften in 2020, after McCowen's two sons moved into their father's home.
The 37-year-old also went through a second divorce, and found herself going to Maples for comfort.
'I was overwhelmed,' McCowen told the Post. 'Angela just became my go-to person for things.'
Angela Maples (L) and Amanda McCowen (R) after a 10-year long rocky relationship McCowen donated a kidney to Maples
McCowen (left) and the Maples (center). The two women had a hostile relationship until McCowen's sons moved in with their father Joshua (right)
Maples' attitude shifted and she started to 'have much more compassion' for the ex-wife.
The tension faded and the three adults decided to forgive one another, letting go of their grudges for the sake of their kids.
After a dream vacation to Hawaii in 2022, Maples felt sick and exhausted. The doctors later discovered she had an autoimmune disease that affected her kidneys.
She went into renal failure and was put on the organ transplant list, receiving dialysis treatment as she waited for a replacement organ.
As Maples' condition worsened and two kidney donors fell through, McCowen decided to test and see if she was a match.
'I'm not going to lie, I was hesitant,' McCowen told the Post. 'But watching her do fourteen hours of dialysis a day for two-and-a-half years... if it gives her a fighting chance, any amount of pain or anything I go through is worth it.'
The 37-year-old applied to be a donor this past June and was tested in July. In mid-August she got the call - she was a match.
The pair underwent surgery back in October, and it was successful. Their unique relationship stunned the doctors.
'To our knowledge, this is the first time we've had someone provide a kidney to the spouse of an ex,' Robyn Dye, transplant program administrator, told the Post.
Angela and Joshua Maples on the beach. The three adults decided to forgive one another and let go of their grudges for the sake of their children
Joshua Maples, the ex-husband, was overjoyed and 'forever grateful' for McCowen's selfless act.
'They are two moms who have saved each other in many different ways,' he told the outlet.
Maples' tests are now 'looking wonderful' and she still gets 'regular infusions to prevent her body from attacking itself again.'
Regular dinners, game nights and even family sleepovers occur at the Maples' home.
'There is power in forgiveness,' Maples told the outlet. 'Forgiveness literally saved my life.'