Is Keeping An ‘Ex Box' Ever Okay?

Still hanging on to memories of a former flame? It could be a good or bad thing...

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Tucked away somewhere in Kim Kardashian West’s mansion right now is a box that contains an old chicken- nugget container, just one of the many items she’s saved from memorable dates and experiences—with guys other than Kanye. “Everyone has an ex box,” she recently insisted on an episode of the family’s reality show.

You know what she means... that container filled with ticket stubs, mushy birthday cards, and other mementos of a previous lover—the kind of emotionally charged stash that can sometimes be harder to give up than the relationship itself. The question is, do you even need to?

Well, it depends. An ex box might simply be filled with innocent keepsakes that remind you of your personal growth, says Michelle Janning, PhD, a professor of sociology at Whitman College, US, and author of Love Letters: Saving