25 People Discuss the One thing Their Ex Gave Them That They Just Can’t Get Rid Of

Updated 2 years ago, October 25 2022
Deep Thoughts

1. The Lessons

Experience.
Retrosyth1996

2. Buy It For Life Attitude

My ex converted me to a “buy-it-for-life” attitude with a lot of items. She taught me to save up and buy something quality rather than going for what you can afford at that instant. I’ve followed through with this with mattress, my couch, my wardrobe, my cookware, my jewelry, my appliances.
mm2m2

3. Physical Marks

A cigarette burn on my dick.
Edit: She also left bite mark scars in the same area. One of those things I did not ask for lol. And no… I’m not going to send any pictures of my dick LMAO.
GTFOofmycity

4. An Irreplaceable Parting Gift

A 400-page handmade dictionary of my ancestors’ language. Took her 5 months and a ton of research to finish. She was a linguistics major and knew 7 languages, and she knew how much my heritage means to me. It’s the most thoughtful and meaningful gift I have ever received.
UPDATE: for everyone asking about the language, it’s called Adyghe (language of the Circassian people). On how the relationship ended, it was her choice when she left me a month before her study abroad semester. She didn’t trust that I won’t cheat on her (which I never did/would, not with her or anyone else). She also knew that my parents won’t approve of a non-Circassian partner anyway and her catholic family probably won’t accept me either (I was raised in a Muslim culture). Another big part was because I used to smoke weed regularly and she absolutely hated that. She grew up watching a family member and other close friends get hooked on hard drugs and completely fuck up their lives after starting with weed. Worth noting that we were both in college back then (around 22ish) and it was my first serious relationship ever, so inevitably I did mistakes and didn’t treat her as well as she deserved. We did try to get back together after her study abroad semester but things just didn’t work out. Glad to say it ended in a good way.
Sigma-dude

5. Self Confidence

Confidence in myself. She showed me what I was worth and what I deserved in a partner and for that I’ll be forever grateful
Edit: we only broke up because she has a debilitating personality disorder that takes up all of her time and energy. She was my best friend before we dated, and we’re on good terms now. She hasn’t seen anybody since we broke up, and barely even talks to her family at times. It’s just the way she’s always been but it’s become worse and I think she wanted to spare me a relationship that didn’t give me enough.
OlDanboy

6. More Words

A larger vocabulary and I am thankful for it.
MoansAndScones

7. A Stone And A Memory

I have this small stone that I picked up the first time I went out with her. We went to this place along the lake that she likes to go to and she collects a stone every time she goes. This stone is the one that I picked up and kept that day. I’m not sure why I can’t get rid of it, but the thought of it gives me crippling anxiety and fear. I think in a way it serves as a reminder for myself, that I failed her and embodies a lot of my regrets about that relationship. It’s almost used as a masochistic method of punishing myself by keeping it around. It’s fucked up I know. For the few who read this, I appreciate it, I haven’t really shared this with anyone and it’s nice to get it off my chest a little.
trgjtk

8. Fear of Abandonment

Abandonment issues.
BuniOwU

9. A Broken Heart

Heartache.
MysticalJoy

10. The Best And The Worst

A now 18yo daughter that I wouldn’t trade for the world, and a crippling fear of abandonment. Unfortunately, for me, he mattered way more to me than I did to him. It’s been 19 years since we broke up (I was pregnant), and I still think about him every day.
Shanria-Darkwind

11. A Lesson In Love

A sense of not feeling like I’m unlovable. She gave me a belief that someone can love me and want to spend a life with me. The life wasn’t with her, but I’m thankful for the relationship and the lesson is taught me.
ocelotrevs

12. So Much Damage

EMOTIONAL DAMAGE.
TrinityEveBatz

13. The Gift That Keeps On Giving

An STD. And she was my wife of 12 years.
Few-Frosting-1398

14. The Struggles Are Real

PTSD, anxiety, depression I’m still fighting with, lots of trust issues. Shoot I’ve long since moved on, gotten married to an actual partner, and I STILL struggle.
TinyTinasRabidOtter

15. Some Good, Some Bad

A scrapbook that has the title “our journey together”, a couple of plushies, her perfume, her hair tie, a shirt that speaks so well to me and all the broken shit that you can get from an ex: worsened depression, anxiety, heart broken, trust issues, etc 🙂
Ok-Recommendation164

16. Free Streaming

Free Netflix (til a password change hits).
Portland-to-Vt

17. A Love Of Cats

I used to hate cats. She brought a cat into the house within a year of moving in.
I couldn’t see myself giving the damn cat away to a shelter or on the streets. The cat is actually cool.
Rudog11

18. Plot Twist

The girl he cheated on me with.
Neither of us knew he was cheating then we both got pissed at him and ended up getting really close.
We’ve now been dating three years.
kingscrown0907

19. PhD in Narcissism

A profound knowledge of narcissism, dark triad personality traits in general, I almost feel like I acquired an honorary PhD in psychology after the breakup. Reading the other comments here I guess a lot of people can relate.
Ruivosa

20. Lessons in Communicating

Communication skills, especially when it comes to being fully honest.
It’s not that I lied outright about things, but rather left out details that I knew would be upsetting to her. I learned to be upfront about my struggles in order to stop falling into the sitcom trope of pretending to be something I wasn’t.
I am now in a long term relationship where we tell each other things that can be hard to say and hear. We work through each other’s struggles together and support each other and I like to think I have helped him grow as a person just as much as he has helped me.
kaszmonay

21. Money Problems

Her debt. After ten years I’m finally down to the last 10 grand.
CaliTheRogue

22. Baseball Enthusiast and Red Flag Expert

True love for the sport of baseball. Marriage and divorce certificates. Better knowledge of myself as a person and ability to recognize red flags.
julietta913

23. Wasted Years

The feeling that I wasted 10 years of my life.
bFreakie

24. Beer Love

Expensive taste in beer! He was a beer snob, so we drank nothing but the best while we were together. Anyway, hitting up all the microbreweries together ruined the cheap stuff for me. I can’t stand miller lite anymore.
JJSpiceSpice