Lord Of The Rings finally explains why Gollum never wore the One Ring

Gollum’s relationship with the One Ring is an odd one.

Unlike many of the other characters in The Lord of the Rings series, Gollum’s desire to possess the One Ring falls shy of actually trying to wear it.

But why? The other characters who come into contact with it clearly want to use it, so why doesn’t Gollum?

Well, it turns out the answer was right under our noses the whole time.

Thank you in advance to Sterling Ulrich over on CBR for their incredibly in-depth research on this!

As you likely know if you clicked on an article like this, Gollum was better known as the Hobbit Sméagol before the One Ring transformed him.

Sméagol wore the One Ring all the time, as he liked to use its powers to terrorise his fellow Hobbits.

However, once his transformation into Gollum began, he became wary of using the One Ring further.

Don't forget that Tales From The Shire launches next year.

As Ulrich writes in his piece, Tolkien actually outright states this in the fifth chapter of The Hobbit.

“Gollum used to wear it at first, till it tired him; and then he kept it in a pouch next his skin, till it galled him; and now usually he hid it in a hole in the rock on his island.”

Furthermore, Ulrich also theorises that while Gollum was averse to wearing the One Ring… the One Ring may have also been averse to him wearing it too, as Gollum didn’t have any lofty ambitions for it to prey upon.

I also agree with Ulrich’s comparison between addiction and Gollum’s desire to keep the One Ring.

While Gollum may not have wanted to actually use it, he sadly wasn’t able to simply give it up either.

Personally I’m extremely interested to see how much of this ends up being true in the upcoming film The Hunt for Gollum when it drops in 2026.