Women who have a keepsake from an ex that you haven’t let go – what is it, why do you still have it and how does your current partner view it?

33 comments

  2. I don’t have a “keepsake” I kept practical items. KitchenAid stand mixer, merino wool sweater, a bunch of dvds. My fiance knows where they came from and couldn’t care less

  5. There are things I own that were gifts from former partners or keepsakes/souvenirs from places we went together, but those are mine and my history, so I don’t really think of them as being attached to the ex. In many cases, I may not even remember that something i have was a gift from a former partner because it’s a bit meaningless to me and not something I think about unless prompted somehow.

    My partner doesn’t care about that at all. It’s not relevant to him. He doesn’t expect me to pretend I sprang into existence as a blank slate on the day we met, and he’s not bothered or threatened by the fact that I lived a life before we met, so there’s nothing for him to feel weird about because I still have earrings or souvenirs or whatever from people I dated and experiences I had before we met.

  6. The only things that I have from an ex is a big comfy sweater that I will continue to wear for as long as humanly possible, and a special edition of my favourite book. I wouldn’t call them keepsakes though since I don’t keep them as a reminder of the person that gave them to me, and instead value them for what they are.

  7. I have a keepsake box for my ex, I never look through it though. It’s not even at my house, it’s in storage. My husband doesn’t care. My ex is an extremely bad drug addict with brain damage because of drug use. He’s not at all the same person he was when we were dating. The keepsake box reminds me that he was once a human being capable of love and emotion. I know one day he will pass away and I will have the box to remind me of that.

  8. I have every love letter my exes ever sent me. I have every love letter my current partner sent me too. I have jewellery and flowers (dried) they gave me. Art they made me and clothes they gave me. I have it because it is beautiful. Why would I throw out stuff that is filled with good memories and helped shape me to who I am today? My current partner is the same. He has stuff from his exes too. He has everything I have ever given him too.

  9. I have a bracelet that does not get worn often and it’s in my jewelry box. Hubby knows it’s there, but does not know the origin.

  10. It was his Slayer shirt, there’s something about it that reminds me someone loved me, even I it was for a brief time.

  12. I have sheet music and a dried rose from a “young love” as well as photographs of our time together. My husband had no issue with this and we were still friends with my ex and their now wife. I kept it because despite being an ex this person remained important in my life and these were some fond memories for me during a difficult time in my life.

    Oddly enough since I’ve started dating again I’ve noticed that some, particularly male, potential partners take greater issue with my keepsakes from my late husband than those from living exes.

  13. I have a bunch of letters from my ex that he sent me when he was in the army; we weren’t dating at the time he sent the letters, though, so it’s just a reminder that we had a good friendship before we ruined it by dating. We were good friends from 14-18, so it’s bittersweet.

    I kept some letters from my last ex, too, but I only still have them because I’m too lazy to sort through my memory box so I can throw them out (I originally was going to trash them after the breakup but my mom told me I’d enjoy looking back in it when I’m older, so I kept them).

    I threw everything else away that he gave me, though, and gave the stuffed animal he gifted me to my parent’s dog. She still has it and treats it so well; it even still has a face!

  14. I have a tarnished, ugly Coach ring that never fit to remind me he never bought me anything of any sentimental value.

  15. I have a furry blanket from an ex and anyone including a partner can pry it from my cold dead fingers. Nobody has ever asked where it’s from though, it’s just my warm blanky.

  16. I have a ring from an ex I just found. It’s not something I’m comfortable throwing away but also wasn’t expensive enough that I could re sell it.

    I don’t have a partner but I doubt they would care about a dusty ring that’s been sitting in my even dustier jewelry box for 10 years.

  17. I found a hand drawn card my ex made me about the years ago, my current bf saw it and observed it was cute and that was it. Otherwise I have a few jumpers and whatnot that I keep just cos they are comfy, they’ll be chucked once they aren’t wearable. Also have a bunch of books/dvds/whatever that were gifted to me over the years from exes but keep them just cos of what they are, idk how else to explain it

    My bf has a couple of sentimental things from exes, I can’t say I mind at all.

  18. My ex gave me a big knife from when he was in the marines. I kept it cuz its cool. My husband also thinks its cool. But its in night stand because, let’s be real, im not going to be the one defending him in case of a break in.

  19. Not a woman, don’t have a current partner BUT I do have the animatronic Porg that my first bf got me for my birthday like 3 years ago lol. It’s not really for sentimental reasons or anything is just like. A really funny object and it amuses me.

  20. He carved me a little door (like 2×4 inch); it was an inside joke we had. He also gave me a stuffed penguin that he won on a boardwalk when he was on vacation with his family. Both items are in a momento box in my closet. It’s nice to hold onto some happy memories from seemingly another life time ago!

  22. I have jewelry that is put away. Obviously can’t wear a promise ring from your college boyfriend while married to someone else lol. Maybe someday my daughter will want the jewelry. Art that is displayed.

    My husband couldn’t possibly care. We’ve been together 27 years, I highly doubt he could even pick out what I bought for myself or what was a gift at this point. I’m a whole person with a whole life before him. I was very lucky to have good solid boyfriends. Those things were given out of love and the relationships didn’t end in dumpster fires, no bad vibes, so I keep them.

  23. His underwear. I still have a pair that he left in my laundry once. I wear those boxer briefs sometimes. They’re really comfortable and high-quality. But honestly, every time I wear them, I’m thinking about how great the sex was, how good he looked in them, and how the crotch is all stretched out because of his impressive size. It feels super intimate to wear them. I think I told my last partner they were left behind from an ex and I think they’re comfortable. He just laughed at me for having a pair of boxer briefs and never brought it up again.

  25. My ex got me an absolute runt of a kitten that really shouldn’t have been taken from its mother, then promptly dumped me a day or two later. I had nothing except for this poor helpless kitten. Some days I went hungry so he could have his formula and kitten food. The kitten thrived and grew into a cat who is 15 years old and prefers my husband over anyone else.

  26. A jade egg. (A very pretty oval stone)

    My ex gave it to me as a gift celebrating the beginning of our relationship, i broke up with him 5 years later and i tried to give the egg back since it was an expensive gift to him from his mother. He didn’t want it.

    Im sure he had other intentions with it, but i genuinely think its a very pretty stone and it actually brings back some warm memories of when i could actually trust people. Idk im gonna keep it to give to someone else one day i think.

  28. I had a chain. A random beaded chain. It was in the middle compartment of my car and my partner never said anything at firsg but over time he got upset because I never wanted to throw it away. Eventually he made a comment about it so I just opened the window and chucked it.

  29. I keep my wedding ring even though I’m divorced. My husband and I made the rings together and although the marriage didn’t work I was really happy with the way the rings turned out and they were a cool project.

  30. I still have jewelry from my exhubs that I wear fairly often. They were lovely, thoughtful gifts- why would I give them up? I also have an oversized, ratty hoodie I keep retaking back from him bc it’s comfortable and silly.

    My husband is fine with it (as is his girlfriend). We’re all friendly and I wear jewelry the hubster has given me, his shirts to bed, and live with him in the house we bought together.

    I don’t think my hubs has many keepsakes from his ex (who we aren’t friendly with), although we still have some older stuff she left behind- thanks for the dremels and sewing scissors, Tiffany!

  31. I have clothes and very expensive shoes he bought me 💃I will enjoy them cause they are mine 👸🏼

  32. my ex got me a captain marvel pin that i still have on my jean jacket. i don’t think he cares

  33. My dog.

    My husband and my dog are best buds.

    I’m not going to explain why I kept him.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like