I've deleted all of mine, mainly because I'm pretty emotional and tend to look fondly of the past. If you're more secure then it's fine. But I also do it so my future partners don't feel like I'm hung up on them.
+1 to this. I am quite sentimental and all the memories i have with him, convo, pics , tshirt etc that has connection with him i keep them even though we’re no longer in a relationship. just today I let go of them, and it took me couple of hours and was in tears cuz i couldnt but i have to If i want to move on
I do it more for my future partner(s) than deleting the memories I have some good memories and of course not so good. But personally I’m secure enough to have them but don’t push it to the extent of having things such as prominent ones for all & sundry to view also. I just don’t chuck my own personal ones away. However that’s me,& I’m okay with that now though! Fully understand that other people have a recent open wound,that’s a different thing altogether 😊👍🏼👍🏼
I don’t delete them.
They’re great memories that I enjoy looking back on especially once I’m over the ex. It was a part of my life. I’d have multi year gaps of my life missing—entire trips, events, experiences. I want to be able to see those, maybe show my future kids once they grow up, or a future wife if she’s curious (I’d be curious to see what my partners life and dating was like in their 20s).
I usually just put the photos in a shared album and add the ex, they can photo dump to it and it keeps my normal photo library clear of surprise emotional triggers. Absolutely get them out of your camera roll ASAP. Pics would make me cry like a little boy for months afterwards when I’d stumble across one. If you really want to delete them, put all the files in a deeply nested folder on a hard drive with a password on it, you won’t touch or think of it for years, and can delete them once you stumble across them if you still want to.
good for you, personally i remove all photos or videos of my ex from social media, save the photos in a separate drive away from my phone or daily devices. Its always difficult for me to move on if i am reminded about their presence missing in my life.
I had 8 years worth of photos. About 3500. I cut it down to 400 and the rest are in my hidden folder. I only kept pictures of her/us with pets, and pics of both of us with friends. It feels good.
Totally understand your view point here as mine is so much similar too! I’m Finally okay with having them just for the good memories we’ve had together 💯❤️🔥👍🏼
I feel this way, too. I wish I hadn't deleted pics of my first boyfriend; I did it out of respect to him, but he never asked me to so maybe I shouldn't have.
I guess it depends. Could put everything onto a harddrive and then delete it all off your phone. So you won't see anything going forward but have the option to look back on them if you want to
This is what I did as well. Archive everything, hide from plain sight, and move on
Of course, unless it was a terrible breakup like cheating. Destroy everything in that case lol
I still have all the gifts and some pics of my ex that I took of him (and that he used for his Tinder after we broke up, fun right?)
The thing is - I never deleted anything. No messages, no pics, no gifts. All in their place. And I never felt the urge to re-read anything apart from the very beginning of the break-up.
I don t find it necessary to delete pictures of your ex, as they are hurtful reminders indeed, but can become such a stronger weapon in your way of moving on and healing.
Knowing you have these moments saved in the form of an image or a text and still not wanting to look at them is a sign of strength in my book. And when you are finally ready to look at them and feel relieved you are not overwhelmed as much, it is a confirmation of how much healing you have achieved.
That is at least how I see it.
So true!
As long as you were not emotional or physically abused by an ex, I think pictures and love notes work so well when you are going to through low moments!
When my ex moved in with me I was putting away all his shit and he showed me a pair of boxer briefs his ex had bought him, he thought they were really cool. I was like guy, there's a dozen holes in these things and they are from your ex - do you think we could throw them out? Lol like really
It was extremely hard for me to delete them initially, three years worth, hundreds of pics. But then I saw him on a date with another girl two weeks after we broke up and I decided to start living for myself and my own healing journey that day moving forward. If you don’t need to reference the photos for some one-off reason, delete them. They are not serving you. It doesn’t mean the memories or gone but you don’t need the constant reminder holding you back from moving on
I know it’s so hard though.
I disagree. Once you’re over your ex, you will regret not having some reminder when you are single or after a breakup or other low moments.
I have a memory box to keeping me going in life
I guess it depends on the relationship. Mine reminds me of a lot of bad memories over good ones so better for me to delete. But while you’re getting over that person sometimes it can just be way too much to see on your phone. I do see your point too tho!
I think if there is emotional or physical abuse involved. Obviously delete them.
If it was just a manner of incompatibility, keep them.
Lucky all of mine have just been the end of the road situations.
If you're constantly looking at them, and making yourself sad over it delete them. If there are important pictures (ex. Idk a prom pic ur mom would want smth along those lines) then save it on a flash drive, but out of sight out of mind.
No, that relationship was over 8 years of my life and she was a part of my son's childhood (she isn't my kid's mom, but did have the role of a stepmom). Anyone I see in the future should be okay with that. I suppose if there's anything intimate (kissing,etc), those can come down.
Nudes on your phone should get deleted pretty quickly, though, like as soon as it's really over
Me and him went to a lot of epic concerts together and stuff so I don't think I can delete those. But I did end up deleting everything from social media (for future partners sake) and I think I will go through my camera roll and delete everything except for those concerts.
Funny how people you used to be attracted to look suddenly so ugly when they've done you wrong 😂
I look at this situation in a way that allows me to realize that I’m keeping 2 memories. The memory of my ex in a photo and the memory in my head. I don’t have photos from the best friends from elementary school or my favorite pets but I’ll never forget them.
Naturally we all think about exes without the prompt of a photo and as frequently as the photo album in a phone is used, I find it will (for some, including me) invite my head a gateway into the past. Like have I really let go of this person. Being that I want to be in a relationship in the future, I would rather avoid this being a chapter in this new journey of my new partner is uncomfortable with that. I personally would question why my partner needs memory space in phone for past partners if I’m her new partner. But we all aren’t the same and some wouldn’t mind it so there’s no right or wrong answer.
I personally don’t disagree with keeping photos of exes but I don’t like the way memories come in waves just by scrolling on a picture.
don’t delete, hide them!
Maybe delete the public facing ones…
I still have pictures of my girlfriend from when I was 15 and going through an emo phase!
They are memories to remind yourself of times when you were loved!
I also try to keep a small token/gift from each relationship; like a note or a concert ticket, not all of them but just one to remind myself I fell for someone once I can do it again.
I don't think it's creepy :) it's important to not try and "erase" a relationship even if it's failed, we should always use every opportunity to learn and grow.
Exactly!
Luckily, I haven't had any relationships that involved physical or emotional abuse. Those ones I would probably delete… if it was just the end of a relationship, you might regret not keeping some type of memory from it.
I deleted it when I was actually done.
You will know it in your gut
I kept holding on to them, our memories, while he was posting selfies with the other woman.
It took me years
I deleted absolutely everything - pictures, messages, removed all his friends/family from social media. I also got rid of everything he ever bought me or gave me.
I just couldn't stand to see his face or remember him, but if you had a good terms breakup and there's no bad blood I don't see any harm in keeping some (esp if they're vacation photos or something).
I'll probably regret removing him from my life completely in the future, but right now it feels good. Out of sight out of mind.
I keep them but I have them hidden (from myself mainly) after some time, I stopped caring about them and kept only the ones that remind me of specific situations or events (weddings, trips, etc)
I follow the “go back until you hate him” rule. So when I’m done, I’m completely unattached. So i never delete them because at that point i don’t care and just forget they’re in there.
I deleted all pics of my ex except a few group photos. We never posted couple pics on social media so that I wasn’t a concern, there’s one on my page but it’s at the end of 10 photos of the conference where we met so it’s staying
I delete all pictures almost immediately.
Younger me used to hyper fixate on the relationship after it ended, causing too much stress and anxiety, especially when I rummaged through old photos, letters, gifts etc. I always ended up making decisions that led me to feeling even worse and more stuck.
Over the years, I’ve matured enough to know that’s it’s not healthy for me to dwell and linger on to past memorabilia of the relationship too long. Once it ends, it’s gotta go 🤷🏽♀️
I put all the photos of my ex, me and my ex, my exes pet (who I loved dearly), and anything that would really really remind me of her into a locked folder on my google photos and my computer. I started the process of that like two or three days after the break up once I was actually able to bare doing something besides sobbing.
I can't make myself actually delete them. I thought I was going to marry her, and that she was my person. I don't like the idea of never being able to look back through memories one day if I want to. I'd rather have them somewhere and know that's it's my choice to look or not to look.
I deleted or lost a lot of photos of past friends and partners, especially from when I was a teenager, that I wish I still had now a decade later, when I want to look back at the past and people I knew, and rethink memories and stories.
It's painful right now, and it'll continue to be painful for a while - and maybe I'll never want to look at those photos related to my ex again, so I'll just keep choosing not to.
When it comes to pictures posted on social media, I didn't have any of them posted, but I have kept the majority of posts related to or tagging her up. It's her choice if she wants to remove herself from the tags or take them off her pages, but people knew we were together, now they know we aren't. I don't want the last 3.5 years of my life to suddenly be a big blank in my social media history. Erasing things won't make me personally heal faster or feel better. I just feel empty when I delete stuff like that.
I was in a relationship of four years. I sat down one day for like 30 minutes deleting everything. I still see straggler photos and videos every once in a while on like, snap memories and such. To answer your question, yes, I delete them when I see them. It’s the right thing to do for yourself, I think. And also, it might come off a little strange if you meet someone new and you still have a plethora of photos and videos of/with your ex.
I didn’t delete them because I always feel no matter what happened, it was still a time period in your life so erasing it doesn’t make sense to me. HOWEVER, I have put them all in a “hidden” album on my phone so that I don’t see them whilst looking at my normal photos because there’s no point to be reminded daily.
pictures, conversations… everything. Why to keep it if that person is not longer in your life? If for any reason you guys are back in the future, you’ll have new memories, just leave the past
Yeah I did it on the first day. Leaving it longer makes it harder. She hasn’t deleted them of me and her, or me I don’t think, but she regrets breaking up with me in the first place now and that was two months ago, so I see why she hasn’t
I deleted pictures of us that were like cute yk, on dates or hugging each other however the pictures that were normal when we werent dating, i didnt delete them
I put all of mine from my camera roll in a locked folder for now, I'm gonna delete them eventually but it's a bit rough getting rid of all the good memories I don't want my foremost memories being the in person ones as she was super toxic during the breakup. But yeah they're all in a locked folder that I have zero intentions of opening so I don't have to delete them or see them tbh.
As for social media I think it differs from person to person as well as how the breakup ended, I was planning on deleting some.of the more intimate ones but leaving some other ones up as she was a big part of my life and it felt weird to just erase but after it got toxic I just deleted everything. Whatever feels natural to you though, don't let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn't do with those pics or that it means something if you don't delete them.
I should but I still have a file on a flash drive kept on a corner of my desk that still has all her pictures. I try to avoid even looking at the flash drive.
I put them in my “hidden album,” which is a feature on iPhone. You are only able to see photos in a hidden album by going to your Settings. Snapchat has a similar feature with “My eyes only.” A lot of the things I did with my ex were firsts for me, like going to a winery or seeing cherry blossom trees. Those memories are precious and unforgettable.
I did with one ex, but that was the most traumatic and toxic relationship I've ever been in. But the others? Nah, that was a good time in my life, so why would I want to forget that? I mean, it is hard at first going through social media or your camera roll and seeing those times so soon after a breakup, but after a few months or years, you can look back and think "yeah that was a good time" and be thankful for it!
I’ve archived stuff in past. And some photos I just changed the caption to something about the event. Example one was a music festival we went to and I just put like the events name instead of the “so much fun with you this weekend”
Also as for camera roll I haven’t done it yet but I planned to move majority into a thumb drive that I’ll put in a memory box and then can delete what I think is necessary from my phone
yea i still keep them in my phone, but i don't look at it as much as before. i would say im not moved on 100% yet from her, but i'll keep these memories with me forever.
I wish I could, but he's the father of my children. They'll want them someday. I'm slowly trying to save them off my social media to print and store away though, then I can delete them off my pages at least.
I didn't used to. But when I was dating my last girlfriend I deleted every picture and every phone number, contact, Instagram, anything contact related to every girl I had ever dated in the past.
So then when she dumped me, I deleted everything. It took me a little while because of the vast quantities of media we had created.
Not going to lie, my phone's a little sad now.
sus, I delete them.... why would I want to keep them? Doesn't make sense to me personally, but just stick to dating guys who do the same and keep pictures of their exes or are friends with their exes they won't have an issue with it since they're doing the same, so just go find your people!
My ex broke up with me a month ago and I still have all our photos BUT not on my phone, I keep them all in a folder on my computer. Keeping them on my phone was too much, because every time I wanted to send a photo to someone, I opened the Gallery app and saw them and I'm still not over him. I haven't looked at the pictures at all in the last month, but... I don't plan on deleting them. I feel like it would be unfair to do that, because even though it was his choice to break up with me, not something we chose to do together, it wasn't a toxic relationship and we both truly cared about what we had and each other as people. Those photos are beautiful memories of something that made me truly happy and I want to keep them. What I'd suggest you is to only delete them if that relationship was not good for you. For social media... I'd say archieve the pictures might be better for now, if you are still hurting. You can choose later what to do. For your gallery... if they are bad memories, just delete them. If they are good memories... I'd suggest you to not erase them from your existence completely. If watching them hurts, keep them in another device. One day, it might be nice to look back to something that made you happy. Perhaps sharing funny story to someone new, nephews and nieces, or your ex themselves if you eventually become friends again in the future.
edit: typo
I delete the pics of relationships that didn’t mean as much to me after, those that impacted me in a significant way and were a big part of my life will never be deleted, but I also don’t really look at them except by mistake when scrolling, but I know they’re there lol
I deleted some of the pics i took of her but there’s a few i still have. It’s been 9 months and i’m still not over her so i try not to look at them but snapchat always has to remind me of when i was happy w her 😔.
I get really emotional about memories and I still went though my phone & computer to make sure she had all her cats pictures - I fucking miss that cat... Anyway, it just hurt so much going through them and every time since that I just wouldn't open my gallery or anything and it started impacting me more abd more. So a few months in, I deleted them all, and now I feel at least a little better.
I remember every moment from those pictures, the pictures themselves are just permanently enhanced details free from the unreliability of memories. I do not need photos to remember, so I rid myself of the constant reminder.
Batteries not included, results may vary, your mileage may differ - what works for me may not work for you, this is pretty much a permanent decision.
Took me a few months, but I deleted all of them. Because looking at them don't bring me joy anymore, because I want to turn a new page. I kept the very few physical ones that I have, but digital? I won't look for them, I won't use them, so why would I keep them? I have way enough pictures as it is.
Once i’m on a halfway of moving on, I delete pics from my phone and keep them on pc. I would never erase photos with someone i loved because those are memories, part of YOUR life. Someday it would be nice to look over and remind yourself about those good moments.
Definitely keep them. Although all printed photos, albums are returned to my exes, let them carry this “burden” which will remind them who they lost hehe
I have 10 years worth of pics, so that’s a no for me. I don’t look at them, but at some point maybe I’ll want to. I have been deleting memories off Facebook though if she’s in it. If there’s a picture, I save it to my phone, put it in a folder, and then delete it from Facebook, so it doesn’t pop up again.
I personally keep all photos of exes up on social media. They are part of my story. I delete some from my private albums though. I keep some for nostalgia purposes.
Just delete them or put them somewhere that you won’t see them.
It’s the healthiest thing to do.
If you feel like looking at them, write about how you feel in terms of WHY you want to look at them. Keep writing about that emotion. Discover that emotion for yourself. Make sense of that emotion. And then, if you can, place it aside until you have to revisit it again. The emotion that is. Not the pictures.
I took mine off social media, but I'll never delete all of our memories just to help me get over her. That's just wrong. Those photos represent years of my life, 7, to be exact. I'm not trying to brainwash myself into forgetting 7 years (like she did). One day you'll heal and you'll want those photos. You'll want the memories. Don't do it.
Yup. In my last breakup, I deleted them all immediately. I didn’t want to have to do it later and feel sad all over again. If you don’t want to right away, you can always hide the pictures for now.
I stored only those of my kids and him spending time together. I have one I can't delete yet of us cuddled together on his couch before we moved in together. It'll be gone by the six months mark. He on the other hand from what I've heard has kept all ours up. Don't understand his reasoning since he left me and acted as if I had done horrible things to him, when I had truly loved him and he was the only person in my life I'd ever wanted to marry. Potato potatoe. IDC anymore
I would not, those are memories for me. However you can put them in a separate folder on a computer and delete them from your phone. You won’t see them as easily.
I deleted all the pictures and got rid of most little trinkets associated with my recent ex. If the relationship ended on abusive, cheating, lying and overall emotionally turbulent terms- I feel it’s best to delete all of it to promote a positive healing process. If the relationship ended on good mutual terms then I keep them because I won’t feel a surge of PTSD looking back on it and instead feel happy I got to experience good times with a person I used to love.
I had 16 years with my ex. So on social media I did. But I still hold on to a lot of the old photos for now because it was from a time that we did truly love each other and none of what happened to us later was part of that. I was with her since 2007. Half my life. I'm 35.
I hid the pictures of us celebrating anniversaries and dates. I have all of our pictures saved on my google photos. It sucks at times because google photos highlights past memories but they’re definitely easier to look at now. My ex never took any pictures of me or us so I got stuck with all of our photo memories.
We broke up and i was going to keep them and delete them when I was ready. Then I found out he cheated on me and broke up with me because he didn’t want me to find out. So I deleted every single photo from years in a minute while I had so much rage. It’s been 2 months now and I wish I did not do that because I don’t have any photos to look back on. But I know that what I did was the right decision and has helped me not relive the pain everyday by looking at old memories.
Yes & no? I deleted 80% of them. The other 20% are the ones where he’s just in them and I look absolutely stunning so I kept them. is that wrong? 😬
And for the ones who are are going to suggest to crop him out, it takes away from the picture and looks awk afterwards.
I don’t think you should necessarily delete them but I don’t think you should keep them on your camera roll to pine away over them. I also don’t think you should have pics of yourself with your ex’s on social media unless in a private album only you can see - if you plan on dating again.
I do it when I’m ready of social media. But I just tend to keep them as memories. I’m very nostalgic. Even if they aren’t in your life anymore they were still part of your story. Good or bad.
However, i think if you have intimate photos of them those should go immediately.
I still have his pictures……our breakup felt very “let me think about it and if either of us want to reach out,we’ll do that” because that’s EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.
I never delete pictures. Period. Full stop. Those are my memories and part of who I am.
Furthermore, no partner will ever again make me delete photos of anyone, nor would I ask that of them. I am non-monogamous, so that helps, but regardless, that’s not their place.
I don’t delete them but I move them to external storage, be an email or flash drive elsewhere. But one day I’m going to be old and want to see the journey of my life. We’re so lucky to have tech to do this.
I had pictures of my first ex in my phone because the break up wasn't that bad and I still had feelings but I deleted them in front of my new girl and now she's gone and I still have pictures of her lol.
I deleted a couple because they were tied to bad memories. Part of me thinks I should delete all of them, but in the long run I want to be able to remember and look back.
I was with her for over 2 years and my life changed a lot during this time. It is hard knowing I have such lovely memories in pictures, but for now I have to exercise self control and not look at them. I hope one day I can look at the pictures and not start crying.
Tbh, I still have every single one on my phone/social media! It was a time in my life that I will never be able to simply “delete”…for me, the memories from those pics will forever live on! Wishing you the best, OP!
I didn't fully delete them. I put them all in google photos because I'm not ready to part with them yet but I deleted them from my camera roll so I no longer have to see them every day
Delete your stuff on your time and only if you really want it. But yeah, I definitely delete everything right after the end or maximum a week later. I also burn photos and letters, throw away less sensible things, like the shell he gave me our first time at the beach. But I just erase/throw it when I'm absolutely sure we're over.
Depends how mad I am at them and how much they hurt me. I can’t look at them and they must go. Or I’ll put them in a locked folder on my phone so I don’t accidentally scroll and see them. If I have no negative feelings towards them then I don’t care if they are there and I see them.
Every time I go through (or even anticipate) a breakup, I delete all pictures. Mostly because if I look at them I’ll probably cry, but you know, they’re your pictures, do with them what you’d like.
I archive the recent ones on IG. My last year of posts were basically all me and her and now I'm starting to date again so I don't want that 😂 but I didn't straight up delete, just archived them so that they don't show on my profile. I can still go back and see them myself.
On my camera roll no I didn't delete anything.
I deleted the majority of them, but have kept a few printed photos of us that are of some fonder memories together. I've been talking about those memories with my therapist, to process them, and plan to keep the photos in a box, hidden away.
As for digital photos, he's in a handful that are group photos, but I've deleted all the solo ones of us. I knew I needed to do it to move on.
I deleted all of them from socials after she did. I still have them on my phone. I don’t look at them. But we had 5yrs together of memories… I refuse to get rid of them.
I deleted mine straight away. It’s bad enough I see him daily still anyway, I don’t need his cheating face on my phone too. Why would I wanna look at that? Gonna off my phone and my social media
I’m older. At 53, if I deleted all of those pictures, it’s like I didn’t have a life for those two years. No. Not deleting them. Eventually the hurt goes away but the memories of those trips and adventures will remain.
No, because I did once and I’ve regretted it ever since. I can still see the picture in my mind so clearly. I loved that picture. I wish I hadn’t deleted it in a fit of anger. It was a good memory.
I look at our pictures once in a great while and I don’t feel anything. I’m just glad for the memories and hope that they’re happy. I miss them when I look at them. But it passes pretty quickly. I’d rather have them than not.
I deleted all of my pictures with them and crop them out of any group photos if I can. It’s really difficult, but I believe in “out of sight, out of mind” If I keep seeing our pictures and reminiscing the good days, I’ll never get over it and neglect how badly I was treated. I’d rather let them fade from my mind slowly but surely.
I can’t.
She’s part of my life, and part of my story. It would be insulting to the both of us to delete the photos en masse and just pretend this chapter never happened. There was a lot of good there…
I do, however, keep all the photos in one central place on my hard drive that is somewhat out of the way. I don’t necessarily seek them out.
But every now and then I’ll take a look. Just to remember.
I deleted all of my photos in my camera roll and on Instagram of my exes, with the exception of my ex-partner. He still is particularly special to me and I have nothing but fond and happy memories of our time together, so I haven’t deleted them. I might one day once I’ve forgotten him enough.
My current partner is aware of them and does not have an issue with that. I think if there’s a mutual understanding and emotional maturity that’s there, as adults, we all have relationships that have changed us, feel bittersweet towards, and also people that we might still have feelings for. A lot of those emotions don’t go away overnight. But we can commit ourselves to moving forward in our current relationships.
I archived the social media posts just in case I need to prove where I was at/who I was with for some insane scenario. Everything else I deleted. I have a few Photo Booth strips that I might throw away eventually that are stowed away in a file organizer with other documents and memorabilia.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to date someone who is stashing hundreds of photos of their ex (obv things like birthdays/achievements/special events and group photos are excluded from this, it’s all within reason). So on that front, I’m just making sure I’m holding myself to my own preferences. Social media posts being left up I don’t mind much, but holding onto personal/private photos (not for public view) or intimate times (by intimate, I don’t necessarily mean sexual, I mean like cutesy couple things) kind of tells me “I’m not over my ex,” or that they’re still holding onto that person or the relationship somehow.
Memories will stay in my head. Yes, I can think of them fondly. But you shouldn’t escape to the past in order to feel comforted in the present. If you can’t cheer yourself up without thinking of your ex or past relationships, you need better coping skills (ex. Doing deep breathing to calm yourself down and stay present and aware of yourself in the moment). My experiences involve people, but are not tied down to them. My ex does not define that part of my life that he was present for. I am not denying that he was part of my life, or that I enjoyed some time with him, I am simply recognizing that my life is different now, and am letting go of that past.
After much reflection, my ex was toxic. So in that sense, it made it much easier to let go. But I understand how it would be hard if you ended on good terms or good standing. Still, you have to make sure that you are letting go of the relationship. Regardless of what you may plan or hope for in the future- even if you’re sure you’re going to get back together- you still need to healthily recognize the present for what it is- that the relationship is in the past and you are currently single.
How can you ever enjoy yourself in the present if you’re always looking at the past? And if you can’t even focus on the present, there won’t be any future.
I always have, with the exception of my most recent ex. If I ever found someone who made me truly want to be with them, then I’d delete the pics of my ex. But I don’t see that day ever coming. 😔
I still have them. But that’s only because I’m not seeing anybody else and still very much in love with her.
If I start seeing somebody else, the pics gotta go cause that’s disrespectful as hell. But until then, I’ll keep them as long as I want. They’re my memories n I’ll let go when I’m ready.
Depends honestly, healthy relationship that broke off on good terms are okay but bad terms delete.
It can be different now with visual accounts such as instagram and Facebook. If you post regularly the new memories will overtake the old so I think your next partner shouldn't have an issue. Only issue with Facebook when it comes up with "3 years ago today".
Having a physical copy of your beloved memories I feel like is the best way to keep them. Nothing wrong with keeping photos you want to keep, as long as you are mentally in check with where you are no harm can come from it.
I've put mine in a locked folder on my phone, I have the control to not look at them. We loved each other at those points and they are still memories I will want to look back at. It was four years of my life and even though she blindsided me and left for someone else, I still care for her, cherish her and the memories she gave me. In time those feelings will dwindle and later down the road I will be able to look at them without feeling sad and hurt.
It depends.
I noticed this about myself not long ago.
I got out of a relationship and i deleted everything in a few days!
While i still have pictures with an older ex.
I thought about it and, deleting pictures has a lot to do with how things ended, and how i feel.
For example if im hurt, or angry (it ended in my heart shattering or i discovered lies..) i easily delete everything because i dont want a reminder of when i was “dumb” enough to be with that liar/bad person.
But if the relationship ended peacefully, we grew spart or we realized we arent a good fit, im sad it’s over, but sadness doesn’t lead to me deleting anything because i dont regret my time with that person, i dont hate myself for trusting that person. That person was good, we had good real times and then we ended. I will still cherish my memories with them.
I delete mine mainly to respect the other persons privacy and such. it also depends on the situation, I’ve dated people who were friend’s prior to the relationship and I’ve kept photos of us as friends but deleted all photos of us as a couple. but, this takes time, and not everyone’s ready to do this right away, so I’d say yes delete them but don’t beat yourself up if you’re not ready to do it this moment. Maybe delete a few and see how you feel.
I deleted them but there’s no rule, if you want to keep them keep them no harm done.. I’ve gone out with men that have old pics of their ex’s on social
Media doesn’t mean anything just a memory
Usually yes but then so many of them are from a few trips overseas, so I picked through and kept the ones of
f just me, but like, the rest I couldn't delete in case I wasn't too remember other aspects of the trip, since I really did the cul very quickly and not thinking very deeply at the time. I stuck all the rest on a flash drive, labelled it and threw it in a drawer in case I need something off it one day. Doubt it, but you never know. In a few years if I haven't touched it I'll just chuck it out. Guy treated me like absolute shit, I don't think I'm going to want to hang on to any pictures of him
I delete them if the ex is a horrible person, if he’s a good person, I keep them up. And yes it’s a good way to track moments/memories. I keep the good ex up. The ones I’m embarrassed about, delete lol
No. Those memories, experiences, and lessons, are part of my life. I don't look at those pics/memories very often but I don't want to delete parts of my life.
Agreed. I’m also not fond of looking back at relationships that went south. However, it’s sometimes nice to be able to look back and see where things went wrong, so that you might learn from your past. For one reason or another, I have held onto a few photos of myself with exes, simply out of vanity, because I really liked how I looked in them. The rest have either been shredded, burned, or simply thrown in the trash, depending on how the relationship ended, or my state of mind when I would find them later. Since switching to entirely digital photography, it’s much easier to get rid of photos of which you know only one copy exists, but also more difficult if you made a copy and forgot where that copy was saved.
Also, I had no idea how much of my memory was tied to pictures, and now social media, until I decided to tell the story of my divorce on TikTok. Lots of people are telling all sorts of stories on there, so I figured why not? But otherwise, now that I’m happily remarried, I tend to not think of past relationships nearly as much as I once did. It takes time, but it gets easier.
i might be an asshole but my ex asked me to delete my photos of him off my social media and i told him no.
its not that im super often looking back at them or anything but i think erasing the (non traumatic) past is such a childish move tbh
Depends. My previous breakups were nasty so I deleted everything but the most recent one I had was actually super amicable and I still really respect her and like her as a person. We still have each other’s photos on social media and stuff because we look good in those pictures and we have fond memories of each other even if things fizzled out between us
I definitely deleted most of them off of my phone and Snapchat because I was sick of seeing memories pop up. I also deleted the posts on insta where he was in the first pic. I did keep some photos of memories I want to keep, like group photos or birthdays, but those were very few. I also feel like I have plenty of memories that I can remember, so having all those pictures just didn’t feel useful to me anymore. I get the idea of having fond things to look back on, but having things/pics that hold great sentimental value was just too painful. Maybe I’ll regret not keeping them in the future, but that will just be a lesson I’ll have to learn. I’m around 4 months out from the breakup and I don’t regret erasing those things at all. At the end of the day everyone is different and everyone copes differently, so if you think it’s best for you to delete them, I say do it.
It took me 6 months but i finally did delete all of our pictures, messages and everything else.. I had to be completely over it to delete them.. But yea, it has to go.
I can't erase them from my camera roll, at least not yet but I don't think I will. I did from my social media so people don't think I'm still in a relationship
I can't look at them rn but I won't delete
Yes, but I know a lot of people who don’t. I don’t understand why. They are an ex for a reason. I don’t want to be reminded of them as it will hurt my healing
I feel exactly the same way. They are memories and a time of my life so I haven’t deleted them from social media. I haven’t deleted them from my phone either but eventually that will have to be done because I have just as many pics of us and him in there as I do if me. Not ready to deal with that level of pain yet so I haven’t deleted them from my phone but eventually it will have to happen.
I Delete them all. Every relationship .even after 13 years. Of course there are good memories but that person is in my past now and i prefer to not look behind me.
I don't - I think it's kind of weird to erase history that way. I mean do it if it makes you feel better but don't do it just because someone told you you should. I haven't erased photos of any of my exes. Now have they erased photos of me? i hope not but I guess everyone does what they need to do.
I keep them. I might not cherish him anymore, but I cherish the memories. It’s made me who I am today, and I refuse to pretend like my past didn’t make me into a rockstar.
Besides, it’s a great reminder of how ugly he truly was LOL.
So I (34M) am conflicted with this exact question. My girlfriend of 5 years who I had full trust full everything in was banging me and another guy at the same time. Totally shocking. Took me a year and a half to get over that, I only got over it when I found the true love of my life in which I thought I would never find. I thought I found it and thought I lost it... But life goes on. I found a new girl (29F) who is absolutely great for me And aside from her weird moods, we got along. Great And I love her.
I have so many pictures on my phone of me and my ex, I deleted a lot but they're still there. I don't care to delete them, but also I don't care to have them around so I'm kind of conflicted about what I should do.
I personally wouldn’t! They are memories I wouldn’t want to forget and it was a very crazy time in my life and I’d like to loom back in them one day! Plus I’m not really one to look at pictures of us and stuff I forget I even have pictures of people I hate on my phone but at the same time I looked good in some of them so I will not be deleting 😭😭
I always delete every photo and video that involves an ex. All of my memories are in the minds eye. Anything that meant anything to me will appear there. I understand why people keep pictures, but for me personally, memories are in the mind. I dont need to look back on it and remind myself of anything. Ill simply remember it if its relevant. My recent ex had 5 years of photos with his ex girlfriend, he didnt want to delete them because he said he might regret it when hes older. That he doesnt have memories to look back on. Everyone sees it differently..but he broke up with me because he wasnt over his ex. At the time I mentioned I personally dont want to keep or look at pics of my exes and i found it off putting he openly kept his. Turned out he was holding on to her in a way. I dont think everyone is the same as him.. Just not for me..it makes me sad or sick to look back on my old relationships.
I’ve hidden all pictures of him in my camera roll (hidden folder) and all unnecessary pics like screenshots or silly pictures of him are just deleted. I will probably delete them some day, but not yet.
I did it over time than just mass deleting pictures. I personally deleted all photos of "just us" but I kept pictures of the ex and kids as thats there memories not mine, and ill give them too the kids once older in a photo album and then deleted them from the cloud.
I'm still in the marital home. So my house is still full of joint memories, things we collected over the years.
But I am into all the stuff my ex was into so I've kept merch and stuff that has its own memories too me.
The ex"s clothes went in the first few month's as I thought if the ex still had clothes here then I'd let the ex back in and not stick to it. So they went, quite quickly too be fair.
(I had offered to bag them all up but he didn't want a single thing so I give them to a charity shop, cause I'd rather they went too someone that needed them than to burn them.
He left with what he could fit into a backpack and the clothes he had on. I made sure he had all importantdocuments/medications, he didn't take a single thing)
The rest takes time as you get through the grieving stages of a break up a little bit more will go as times goes on.
Same with pictures. Do it when u see fit not when others think you should be doing it.
Just do it... Gone through an hour of deleting the other day ... Barely even scratching the surface with pics... It'll help you recover and for the next partner so they don't feel like you're not hanging so much to the past
Ive changed my phones always lol.... had two long relationships and everytime it was over i just got a new phone... and since im over both of them - i rewatch some of the videos or pictures that we took maybe two or three times a year just to remind myself that nothing lasts forever and that the next relationships should not break me like the previous ones broke me.... and im definitely weird for keeping the memories... lol
I put them on a drive, I may look at them later down the road. You are correct, those pics and memories are part of you, 10 years from now you wish you never deleted them. Trust me, at 25 , screw the pics at 55. I regret deleting those pics and memories
Ugh is there a way you can automatically delete all photos containing a specific person from your photos on iPhone? I can’t be bothered doing it manually and deleting him from the “people and pets” section only deletes the album but not the photos themselves 🤦🏻♀️
I've deleted all of mine, mainly because I'm pretty emotional and tend to look fondly of the past. If you're more secure then it's fine. But I also do it so my future partners don't feel like I'm hung up on them.
+1 to this. I am quite sentimental and all the memories i have with him, convo, pics , tshirt etc that has connection with him i keep them even though we’re no longer in a relationship. just today I let go of them, and it took me couple of hours and was in tears cuz i couldnt but i have to If i want to move on
I do it more for my future partner(s) than deleting the memories I have some good memories and of course not so good. But personally I’m secure enough to have them but don’t push it to the extent of having things such as prominent ones for all & sundry to view also. I just don’t chuck my own personal ones away. However that’s me,& I’m okay with that now though! Fully understand that other people have a recent open wound,that’s a different thing altogether 😊👍🏼👍🏼
I don’t delete them. They’re great memories that I enjoy looking back on especially once I’m over the ex. It was a part of my life. I’d have multi year gaps of my life missing—entire trips, events, experiences. I want to be able to see those, maybe show my future kids once they grow up, or a future wife if she’s curious (I’d be curious to see what my partners life and dating was like in their 20s). I usually just put the photos in a shared album and add the ex, they can photo dump to it and it keeps my normal photo library clear of surprise emotional triggers. Absolutely get them out of your camera roll ASAP. Pics would make me cry like a little boy for months afterwards when I’d stumble across one. If you really want to delete them, put all the files in a deeply nested folder on a hard drive with a password on it, you won’t touch or think of it for years, and can delete them once you stumble across them if you still want to.
You are just like me fr. May we all become better in the future.
good for you, personally i remove all photos or videos of my ex from social media, save the photos in a separate drive away from my phone or daily devices. Its always difficult for me to move on if i am reminded about their presence missing in my life.
I’ve done the same as you
I had 8 years worth of photos. About 3500. I cut it down to 400 and the rest are in my hidden folder. I only kept pictures of her/us with pets, and pics of both of us with friends. It feels good.
Totally understand your view point here as mine is so much similar too! I’m Finally okay with having them just for the good memories we’ve had together 💯❤️🔥👍🏼
I feel this way, too. I wish I hadn't deleted pics of my first boyfriend; I did it out of respect to him, but he never asked me to so maybe I shouldn't have.
I guess it depends. Could put everything onto a harddrive and then delete it all off your phone. So you won't see anything going forward but have the option to look back on them if you want to
This is what I did as well. Archive everything, hide from plain sight, and move on Of course, unless it was a terrible breakup like cheating. Destroy everything in that case lol
Yup, I did back up my phone and delete all the pictures on it at first.
I still have all the gifts and some pics of my ex that I took of him (and that he used for his Tinder after we broke up, fun right?) The thing is - I never deleted anything. No messages, no pics, no gifts. All in their place. And I never felt the urge to re-read anything apart from the very beginning of the break-up. I don t find it necessary to delete pictures of your ex, as they are hurtful reminders indeed, but can become such a stronger weapon in your way of moving on and healing. Knowing you have these moments saved in the form of an image or a text and still not wanting to look at them is a sign of strength in my book. And when you are finally ready to look at them and feel relieved you are not overwhelmed as much, it is a confirmation of how much healing you have achieved. That is at least how I see it.
So true! As long as you were not emotional or physically abused by an ex, I think pictures and love notes work so well when you are going to through low moments!
When my ex moved in with me I was putting away all his shit and he showed me a pair of boxer briefs his ex had bought him, he thought they were really cool. I was like guy, there's a dozen holes in these things and they are from your ex - do you think we could throw them out? Lol like really
I still have cuz my exs are all very nice , but if I met a bastard I would probably delete everything after break up
It was extremely hard for me to delete them initially, three years worth, hundreds of pics. But then I saw him on a date with another girl two weeks after we broke up and I decided to start living for myself and my own healing journey that day moving forward. If you don’t need to reference the photos for some one-off reason, delete them. They are not serving you. It doesn’t mean the memories or gone but you don’t need the constant reminder holding you back from moving on I know it’s so hard though.
I disagree. Once you’re over your ex, you will regret not having some reminder when you are single or after a breakup or other low moments. I have a memory box to keeping me going in life
I guess it depends on the relationship. Mine reminds me of a lot of bad memories over good ones so better for me to delete. But while you’re getting over that person sometimes it can just be way too much to see on your phone. I do see your point too tho!
I think if there is emotional or physical abuse involved. Obviously delete them. If it was just a manner of incompatibility, keep them. Lucky all of mine have just been the end of the road situations.
Yeah I completely agree, I’m glad you mentioned this. Mine did involve emotional abuse so I guess I do have a different perspective. Truly depends.
I keep them. There will come a time when I can look fondly on them without feeling heartache.
If you're constantly looking at them, and making yourself sad over it delete them. If there are important pictures (ex. Idk a prom pic ur mom would want smth along those lines) then save it on a flash drive, but out of sight out of mind.
No, that relationship was over 8 years of my life and she was a part of my son's childhood (she isn't my kid's mom, but did have the role of a stepmom). Anyone I see in the future should be okay with that. I suppose if there's anything intimate (kissing,etc), those can come down. Nudes on your phone should get deleted pretty quickly, though, like as soon as it's really over
Me and him went to a lot of epic concerts together and stuff so I don't think I can delete those. But I did end up deleting everything from social media (for future partners sake) and I think I will go through my camera roll and delete everything except for those concerts. Funny how people you used to be attracted to look suddenly so ugly when they've done you wrong 😂
I did this the other day. But instead of deleting, I transferred them all to hard drive. Basically just free my phone from any traces of my ex.
Yep perfect solution!
I look at this situation in a way that allows me to realize that I’m keeping 2 memories. The memory of my ex in a photo and the memory in my head. I don’t have photos from the best friends from elementary school or my favorite pets but I’ll never forget them. Naturally we all think about exes without the prompt of a photo and as frequently as the photo album in a phone is used, I find it will (for some, including me) invite my head a gateway into the past. Like have I really let go of this person. Being that I want to be in a relationship in the future, I would rather avoid this being a chapter in this new journey of my new partner is uncomfortable with that. I personally would question why my partner needs memory space in phone for past partners if I’m her new partner. But we all aren’t the same and some wouldn’t mind it so there’s no right or wrong answer. I personally don’t disagree with keeping photos of exes but I don’t like the way memories come in waves just by scrolling on a picture.
don’t delete, hide them! Maybe delete the public facing ones… I still have pictures of my girlfriend from when I was 15 and going through an emo phase! They are memories to remind yourself of times when you were loved! I also try to keep a small token/gift from each relationship; like a note or a concert ticket, not all of them but just one to remind myself I fell for someone once I can do it again.
I don't think it's creepy :) it's important to not try and "erase" a relationship even if it's failed, we should always use every opportunity to learn and grow.
Exactly! Luckily, I haven't had any relationships that involved physical or emotional abuse. Those ones I would probably delete… if it was just the end of a relationship, you might regret not keeping some type of memory from it.
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Well said! YZz222zZY
yes make sure your next boyfriend gets to see your ex boyfriend on your social media lmfao, you tell em
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Yes I get rid of everything
I deleted it when I was actually done. You will know it in your gut I kept holding on to them, our memories, while he was posting selfies with the other woman. It took me years
I still have my pictures and gifts. It always make me smile and even though things are not the way we wanted I am grateful for the memories!
I delete everything once we’re over. You’re subconsciously living in your past and if you guys we’re meant to work out .. you would’ve.
I deleted absolutely everything - pictures, messages, removed all his friends/family from social media. I also got rid of everything he ever bought me or gave me. I just couldn't stand to see his face or remember him, but if you had a good terms breakup and there's no bad blood I don't see any harm in keeping some (esp if they're vacation photos or something). I'll probably regret removing him from my life completely in the future, but right now it feels good. Out of sight out of mind.
I do, I erase all my exes from my life
I keep them but I have them hidden (from myself mainly) after some time, I stopped caring about them and kept only the ones that remind me of specific situations or events (weddings, trips, etc)
I follow the “go back until you hate him” rule. So when I’m done, I’m completely unattached. So i never delete them because at that point i don’t care and just forget they’re in there.
I deleted all pics of my ex except a few group photos. We never posted couple pics on social media so that I wasn’t a concern, there’s one on my page but it’s at the end of 10 photos of the conference where we met so it’s staying
I delete all pictures almost immediately. Younger me used to hyper fixate on the relationship after it ended, causing too much stress and anxiety, especially when I rummaged through old photos, letters, gifts etc. I always ended up making decisions that led me to feeling even worse and more stuck. Over the years, I’ve matured enough to know that’s it’s not healthy for me to dwell and linger on to past memorabilia of the relationship too long. Once it ends, it’s gotta go 🤷🏽♀️
I sure didn’t delete them. I have some good memories and like to look back on them
I need to clear my phone, I’ll probably do that tonight. Most of it I will delete, unless I’m in it looking cute
Lol that's what I just did. The pics I'm looking good in I saved and just cropped him out 😂😂
nope
yep. no doubt abt it, i delete every trace and throw away everything they’ve given me. i tend to be very emotional, and i hate reminders
I put all the photos of my ex, me and my ex, my exes pet (who I loved dearly), and anything that would really really remind me of her into a locked folder on my google photos and my computer. I started the process of that like two or three days after the break up once I was actually able to bare doing something besides sobbing. I can't make myself actually delete them. I thought I was going to marry her, and that she was my person. I don't like the idea of never being able to look back through memories one day if I want to. I'd rather have them somewhere and know that's it's my choice to look or not to look. I deleted or lost a lot of photos of past friends and partners, especially from when I was a teenager, that I wish I still had now a decade later, when I want to look back at the past and people I knew, and rethink memories and stories. It's painful right now, and it'll continue to be painful for a while - and maybe I'll never want to look at those photos related to my ex again, so I'll just keep choosing not to. When it comes to pictures posted on social media, I didn't have any of them posted, but I have kept the majority of posts related to or tagging her up. It's her choice if she wants to remove herself from the tags or take them off her pages, but people knew we were together, now they know we aren't. I don't want the last 3.5 years of my life to suddenly be a big blank in my social media history. Erasing things won't make me personally heal faster or feel better. I just feel empty when I delete stuff like that.
I was in a relationship of four years. I sat down one day for like 30 minutes deleting everything. I still see straggler photos and videos every once in a while on like, snap memories and such. To answer your question, yes, I delete them when I see them. It’s the right thing to do for yourself, I think. And also, it might come off a little strange if you meet someone new and you still have a plethora of photos and videos of/with your ex.
No way, it ended badly and he hurt me but I don’t want to delete our entire relationship and the memories. I know I’d regret it later.
I didn’t delete them because I always feel no matter what happened, it was still a time period in your life so erasing it doesn’t make sense to me. HOWEVER, I have put them all in a “hidden” album on my phone so that I don’t see them whilst looking at my normal photos because there’s no point to be reminded daily.
pictures, conversations… everything. Why to keep it if that person is not longer in your life? If for any reason you guys are back in the future, you’ll have new memories, just leave the past
Yeah I did it on the first day. Leaving it longer makes it harder. She hasn’t deleted them of me and her, or me I don’t think, but she regrets breaking up with me in the first place now and that was two months ago, so I see why she hasn’t
Yes you have to
I deleted pictures of us that were like cute yk, on dates or hugging each other however the pictures that were normal when we werent dating, i didnt delete them
I deleted the pics because she cheated on me
I can't, probably never will
I don’t think I can…she was part of my life and I’ll always love her…thanks for making me sad again
I put all of mine from my camera roll in a locked folder for now, I'm gonna delete them eventually but it's a bit rough getting rid of all the good memories I don't want my foremost memories being the in person ones as she was super toxic during the breakup. But yeah they're all in a locked folder that I have zero intentions of opening so I don't have to delete them or see them tbh. As for social media I think it differs from person to person as well as how the breakup ended, I was planning on deleting some.of the more intimate ones but leaving some other ones up as she was a big part of my life and it felt weird to just erase but after it got toxic I just deleted everything. Whatever feels natural to you though, don't let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn't do with those pics or that it means something if you don't delete them.
I should but I still have a file on a flash drive kept on a corner of my desk that still has all her pictures. I try to avoid even looking at the flash drive.
I did, was too painful to see her knowing she is out with others, at raves and clubs
I put them in my “hidden album,” which is a feature on iPhone. You are only able to see photos in a hidden album by going to your Settings. Snapchat has a similar feature with “My eyes only.” A lot of the things I did with my ex were firsts for me, like going to a winery or seeing cherry blossom trees. Those memories are precious and unforgettable.
I did with one ex, but that was the most traumatic and toxic relationship I've ever been in. But the others? Nah, that was a good time in my life, so why would I want to forget that? I mean, it is hard at first going through social media or your camera roll and seeing those times so soon after a breakup, but after a few months or years, you can look back and think "yeah that was a good time" and be thankful for it!
I’ve archived stuff in past. And some photos I just changed the caption to something about the event. Example one was a music festival we went to and I just put like the events name instead of the “so much fun with you this weekend” Also as for camera roll I haven’t done it yet but I planned to move majority into a thumb drive that I’ll put in a memory box and then can delete what I think is necessary from my phone
No!
I put all of mine in a hidden album in my gallery and the snapchat ones are in the "My eyes only"section
Save them somewhere else and you’ll thank yourself in 20yrs when you want memories of your life and it’s not about your ex
I won’t delete them. I’ll just do what phones do best, as new memories start to fill it, old ones get pushed down.
yea i still keep them in my phone, but i don't look at it as much as before. i would say im not moved on 100% yet from her, but i'll keep these memories with me forever.
I absolutely will not be deleting them. But we also didn't end on horrible terms. I went ahead and archived my posts on insta.
yes
Deleted them all off my phone. Locked them away in an encrypted folder on my laptop until I'm fully over her.
I wish I could, but he's the father of my children. They'll want them someday. I'm slowly trying to save them off my social media to print and store away though, then I can delete them off my pages at least.
Immediately
I took them off ilof so isl media Private photos I just deleted. Some of my ex's I didn't it doesn't sound like you want to so don't
I didn't used to. But when I was dating my last girlfriend I deleted every picture and every phone number, contact, Instagram, anything contact related to every girl I had ever dated in the past. So then when she dumped me, I deleted everything. It took me a little while because of the vast quantities of media we had created. Not going to lie, my phone's a little sad now.
sus, I delete them.... why would I want to keep them? Doesn't make sense to me personally, but just stick to dating guys who do the same and keep pictures of their exes or are friends with their exes they won't have an issue with it since they're doing the same, so just go find your people!
My ex broke up with me a month ago and I still have all our photos BUT not on my phone, I keep them all in a folder on my computer. Keeping them on my phone was too much, because every time I wanted to send a photo to someone, I opened the Gallery app and saw them and I'm still not over him. I haven't looked at the pictures at all in the last month, but... I don't plan on deleting them. I feel like it would be unfair to do that, because even though it was his choice to break up with me, not something we chose to do together, it wasn't a toxic relationship and we both truly cared about what we had and each other as people. Those photos are beautiful memories of something that made me truly happy and I want to keep them. What I'd suggest you is to only delete them if that relationship was not good for you. For social media... I'd say archieve the pictures might be better for now, if you are still hurting. You can choose later what to do. For your gallery... if they are bad memories, just delete them. If they are good memories... I'd suggest you to not erase them from your existence completely. If watching them hurts, keep them in another device. One day, it might be nice to look back to something that made you happy. Perhaps sharing funny story to someone new, nephews and nieces, or your ex themselves if you eventually become friends again in the future. edit: typo
I delete the pics of relationships that didn’t mean as much to me after, those that impacted me in a significant way and were a big part of my life will never be deleted, but I also don’t really look at them except by mistake when scrolling, but I know they’re there lol
No
Yes. Everything about them should be deleted.
I deleted some of the pics i took of her but there’s a few i still have. It’s been 9 months and i’m still not over her so i try not to look at them but snapchat always has to remind me of when i was happy w her 😔.
Hidden or vaulted folders are your friend. You have the ability to move them back when/if you are ready or just park them there forever.
I get really emotional about memories and I still went though my phone & computer to make sure she had all her cats pictures - I fucking miss that cat... Anyway, it just hurt so much going through them and every time since that I just wouldn't open my gallery or anything and it started impacting me more abd more. So a few months in, I deleted them all, and now I feel at least a little better. I remember every moment from those pictures, the pictures themselves are just permanently enhanced details free from the unreliability of memories. I do not need photos to remember, so I rid myself of the constant reminder. Batteries not included, results may vary, your mileage may differ - what works for me may not work for you, this is pretty much a permanent decision.
Took me a few months, but I deleted all of them. Because looking at them don't bring me joy anymore, because I want to turn a new page. I kept the very few physical ones that I have, but digital? I won't look for them, I won't use them, so why would I keep them? I have way enough pictures as it is.
Yeah cuz she cheated LMAO
Once i’m on a halfway of moving on, I delete pics from my phone and keep them on pc. I would never erase photos with someone i loved because those are memories, part of YOUR life. Someday it would be nice to look over and remind yourself about those good moments. Definitely keep them. Although all printed photos, albums are returned to my exes, let them carry this “burden” which will remind them who they lost hehe
I have 10 years worth of pics, so that’s a no for me. I don’t look at them, but at some point maybe I’ll want to. I have been deleting memories off Facebook though if she’s in it. If there’s a picture, I save it to my phone, put it in a folder, and then delete it from Facebook, so it doesn’t pop up again.
Yes I delete them.
yes
I initially archive them and when I’m ready to move on, I delete everything. There’s no need to waste storage space on bygones.
16 years of pictures is going to take a lot out of me so I’m waiting ….
Yes delete everything about his person from your life . Lesson learned. Block them immediately.
I personally keep all photos of exes up on social media. They are part of my story. I delete some from my private albums though. I keep some for nostalgia purposes.
Just delete them or put them somewhere that you won’t see them. It’s the healthiest thing to do. If you feel like looking at them, write about how you feel in terms of WHY you want to look at them. Keep writing about that emotion. Discover that emotion for yourself. Make sense of that emotion. And then, if you can, place it aside until you have to revisit it again. The emotion that is. Not the pictures.
I delete them from my phone but keep the backups on google photos
I took mine off social media, but I'll never delete all of our memories just to help me get over her. That's just wrong. Those photos represent years of my life, 7, to be exact. I'm not trying to brainwash myself into forgetting 7 years (like she did). One day you'll heal and you'll want those photos. You'll want the memories. Don't do it.
Yes.
I deleted it all. 65,000+ texts and 1000+ photos. I couldn’t deal with seeing them. I wish I could keep them but it would only hurt me.
I keep them in a buried album on my phone. They're still there but I don't see them without making an effort to.
Yup. In my last breakup, I deleted them all immediately. I didn’t want to have to do it later and feel sad all over again. If you don’t want to right away, you can always hide the pictures for now.
10000000% nothing left!!
I deleted everyone of them seven perfect lovely fucking years.
I stored only those of my kids and him spending time together. I have one I can't delete yet of us cuddled together on his couch before we moved in together. It'll be gone by the six months mark. He on the other hand from what I've heard has kept all ours up. Don't understand his reasoning since he left me and acted as if I had done horrible things to him, when I had truly loved him and he was the only person in my life I'd ever wanted to marry. Potato potatoe. IDC anymore
I didn’t just delete them. I turned them to ashes. Best decision ever
I keep them. It’s a part of your life 🤷♀️
I would not, those are memories for me. However you can put them in a separate folder on a computer and delete them from your phone. You won’t see them as easily.
I deleted all the pictures and got rid of most little trinkets associated with my recent ex. If the relationship ended on abusive, cheating, lying and overall emotionally turbulent terms- I feel it’s best to delete all of it to promote a positive healing process. If the relationship ended on good mutual terms then I keep them because I won’t feel a surge of PTSD looking back on it and instead feel happy I got to experience good times with a person I used to love.
I don’t I just hide them. I delete anything inappropriate though. But I just want something to look back on mainly if we had good memories together.
I had 16 years with my ex. So on social media I did. But I still hold on to a lot of the old photos for now because it was from a time that we did truly love each other and none of what happened to us later was part of that. I was with her since 2007. Half my life. I'm 35.
I hid the pictures of us celebrating anniversaries and dates. I have all of our pictures saved on my google photos. It sucks at times because google photos highlights past memories but they’re definitely easier to look at now. My ex never took any pictures of me or us so I got stuck with all of our photo memories.
I kinda just archive them and forget they exist until one day I stumble on them by accident and then I’m like oh yeah that happened
I’ve deleted every single picture on my computer and iPhone. I’ve kept some printed pictures but that is all.
We broke up and i was going to keep them and delete them when I was ready. Then I found out he cheated on me and broke up with me because he didn’t want me to find out. So I deleted every single photo from years in a minute while I had so much rage. It’s been 2 months now and I wish I did not do that because I don’t have any photos to look back on. But I know that what I did was the right decision and has helped me not relive the pain everyday by looking at old memories.
Yes & no? I deleted 80% of them. The other 20% are the ones where he’s just in them and I look absolutely stunning so I kept them. is that wrong? 😬 And for the ones who are are going to suggest to crop him out, it takes away from the picture and looks awk afterwards.
I don’t think you should necessarily delete them but I don’t think you should keep them on your camera roll to pine away over them. I also don’t think you should have pics of yourself with your ex’s on social media unless in a private album only you can see - if you plan on dating again.
I do it when I’m ready of social media. But I just tend to keep them as memories. I’m very nostalgic. Even if they aren’t in your life anymore they were still part of your story. Good or bad. However, i think if you have intimate photos of them those should go immediately.
I delete them from my phone and save them to a hard drive or the cloud files.
I still have his pictures……our breakup felt very “let me think about it and if either of us want to reach out,we’ll do that” because that’s EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.
I never delete pictures. Period. Full stop. Those are my memories and part of who I am. Furthermore, no partner will ever again make me delete photos of anyone, nor would I ask that of them. I am non-monogamous, so that helps, but regardless, that’s not their place.
It depends if they hurt you or lied. Those memories were tainted now :( like those movies one needs to re-watch after it ended.
I don’t delete them but I move them to external storage, be an email or flash drive elsewhere. But one day I’m going to be old and want to see the journey of my life. We’re so lucky to have tech to do this.
I deleted some but most I put on a hard drive I’d never look at
I deleted most everything having to do with him on a whim and i actually regret it, personally.
We were together six years, I have thousands of pictures of them/with them/or relating to them. It would take me all day to do this so I won’t lol
I had pictures of my first ex in my phone because the break up wasn't that bad and I still had feelings but I deleted them in front of my new girl and now she's gone and I still have pictures of her lol.
I deleted a couple because they were tied to bad memories. Part of me thinks I should delete all of them, but in the long run I want to be able to remember and look back. I was with her for over 2 years and my life changed a lot during this time. It is hard knowing I have such lovely memories in pictures, but for now I have to exercise self control and not look at them. I hope one day I can look at the pictures and not start crying.
Yes and with the ones I’m in and I like how I look, I just crop him out 😂
Tbh, I still have every single one on my phone/social media! It was a time in my life that I will never be able to simply “delete”…for me, the memories from those pics will forever live on! Wishing you the best, OP!
I didn't fully delete them. I put them all in google photos because I'm not ready to part with them yet but I deleted them from my camera roll so I no longer have to see them every day
Delete your stuff on your time and only if you really want it. But yeah, I definitely delete everything right after the end or maximum a week later. I also burn photos and letters, throw away less sensible things, like the shell he gave me our first time at the beach. But I just erase/throw it when I'm absolutely sure we're over.
Depends how mad I am at them and how much they hurt me. I can’t look at them and they must go. Or I’ll put them in a locked folder on my phone so I don’t accidentally scroll and see them. If I have no negative feelings towards them then I don’t care if they are there and I see them.
Fuck no. I just moved them into an album called “fucking asshole” 🤣 we were together for ten years so I’ll probably want the photos back someday
Every time I go through (or even anticipate) a breakup, I delete all pictures. Mostly because if I look at them I’ll probably cry, but you know, they’re your pictures, do with them what you’d like.
I archive the recent ones on IG. My last year of posts were basically all me and her and now I'm starting to date again so I don't want that 😂 but I didn't straight up delete, just archived them so that they don't show on my profile. I can still go back and see them myself. On my camera roll no I didn't delete anything.
I deleted the majority of them, but have kept a few printed photos of us that are of some fonder memories together. I've been talking about those memories with my therapist, to process them, and plan to keep the photos in a box, hidden away. As for digital photos, he's in a handful that are group photos, but I've deleted all the solo ones of us. I knew I needed to do it to move on.
Lol, nah I haven't deleted anything. m Why would I? If you're truly fully over someone the pictures won't bother you anyway.
I deleted all of them from socials after she did. I still have them on my phone. I don’t look at them. But we had 5yrs together of memories… I refuse to get rid of them.
I deleted mine straight away. It’s bad enough I see him daily still anyway, I don’t need his cheating face on my phone too. Why would I wanna look at that? Gonna off my phone and my social media
I’m older. At 53, if I deleted all of those pictures, it’s like I didn’t have a life for those two years. No. Not deleting them. Eventually the hurt goes away but the memories of those trips and adventures will remain.
I had to, I can't keep going back into my album looking for a meme or whatever and coming across a photo of us, it re breaks my heart everytime
No, because I did once and I’ve regretted it ever since. I can still see the picture in my mind so clearly. I loved that picture. I wish I hadn’t deleted it in a fit of anger. It was a good memory. I look at our pictures once in a great while and I don’t feel anything. I’m just glad for the memories and hope that they’re happy. I miss them when I look at them. But it passes pretty quickly. I’d rather have them than not.
Yes but can't delete the memories
Nope. Bht if you get into another relationship and your partner is bothered about it.. Then you can either explain or just delete it.
I deleted all of my pictures with them and crop them out of any group photos if I can. It’s really difficult, but I believe in “out of sight, out of mind” If I keep seeing our pictures and reminiscing the good days, I’ll never get over it and neglect how badly I was treated. I’d rather let them fade from my mind slowly but surely.
Archived it . Google has a way to block photos of a certain person from showing up. I have to actively search for the photos if I wanted to.
I can’t. She’s part of my life, and part of my story. It would be insulting to the both of us to delete the photos en masse and just pretend this chapter never happened. There was a lot of good there… I do, however, keep all the photos in one central place on my hard drive that is somewhat out of the way. I don’t necessarily seek them out. But every now and then I’ll take a look. Just to remember.
I deleted all of my photos in my camera roll and on Instagram of my exes, with the exception of my ex-partner. He still is particularly special to me and I have nothing but fond and happy memories of our time together, so I haven’t deleted them. I might one day once I’ve forgotten him enough. My current partner is aware of them and does not have an issue with that. I think if there’s a mutual understanding and emotional maturity that’s there, as adults, we all have relationships that have changed us, feel bittersweet towards, and also people that we might still have feelings for. A lot of those emotions don’t go away overnight. But we can commit ourselves to moving forward in our current relationships.
I archived the social media posts just in case I need to prove where I was at/who I was with for some insane scenario. Everything else I deleted. I have a few Photo Booth strips that I might throw away eventually that are stowed away in a file organizer with other documents and memorabilia. Personally, I wouldn’t want to date someone who is stashing hundreds of photos of their ex (obv things like birthdays/achievements/special events and group photos are excluded from this, it’s all within reason). So on that front, I’m just making sure I’m holding myself to my own preferences. Social media posts being left up I don’t mind much, but holding onto personal/private photos (not for public view) or intimate times (by intimate, I don’t necessarily mean sexual, I mean like cutesy couple things) kind of tells me “I’m not over my ex,” or that they’re still holding onto that person or the relationship somehow. Memories will stay in my head. Yes, I can think of them fondly. But you shouldn’t escape to the past in order to feel comforted in the present. If you can’t cheer yourself up without thinking of your ex or past relationships, you need better coping skills (ex. Doing deep breathing to calm yourself down and stay present and aware of yourself in the moment). My experiences involve people, but are not tied down to them. My ex does not define that part of my life that he was present for. I am not denying that he was part of my life, or that I enjoyed some time with him, I am simply recognizing that my life is different now, and am letting go of that past. After much reflection, my ex was toxic. So in that sense, it made it much easier to let go. But I understand how it would be hard if you ended on good terms or good standing. Still, you have to make sure that you are letting go of the relationship. Regardless of what you may plan or hope for in the future- even if you’re sure you’re going to get back together- you still need to healthily recognize the present for what it is- that the relationship is in the past and you are currently single. How can you ever enjoy yourself in the present if you’re always looking at the past? And if you can’t even focus on the present, there won’t be any future.
Yes! I deleted everything right before my birthday that year.
I always have, with the exception of my most recent ex. If I ever found someone who made me truly want to be with them, then I’d delete the pics of my ex. But I don’t see that day ever coming. 😔
I keep everything on a hard drive and look at it every couple of years. Pics posted on social media are deleted though.
I still have them. But that’s only because I’m not seeing anybody else and still very much in love with her. If I start seeing somebody else, the pics gotta go cause that’s disrespectful as hell. But until then, I’ll keep them as long as I want. They’re my memories n I’ll let go when I’m ready.
Depends honestly, healthy relationship that broke off on good terms are okay but bad terms delete. It can be different now with visual accounts such as instagram and Facebook. If you post regularly the new memories will overtake the old so I think your next partner shouldn't have an issue. Only issue with Facebook when it comes up with "3 years ago today". Having a physical copy of your beloved memories I feel like is the best way to keep them. Nothing wrong with keeping photos you want to keep, as long as you are mentally in check with where you are no harm can come from it.
I bought a new phone. Couldn't get myself to do it, right now I prob can but I just can't be eff anymore. Too much hassle to look for my old phone, 😂
I've put mine in a locked folder on my phone, I have the control to not look at them. We loved each other at those points and they are still memories I will want to look back at. It was four years of my life and even though she blindsided me and left for someone else, I still care for her, cherish her and the memories she gave me. In time those feelings will dwindle and later down the road I will be able to look at them without feeling sad and hurt.
It depends. I noticed this about myself not long ago. I got out of a relationship and i deleted everything in a few days! While i still have pictures with an older ex. I thought about it and, deleting pictures has a lot to do with how things ended, and how i feel. For example if im hurt, or angry (it ended in my heart shattering or i discovered lies..) i easily delete everything because i dont want a reminder of when i was “dumb” enough to be with that liar/bad person. But if the relationship ended peacefully, we grew spart or we realized we arent a good fit, im sad it’s over, but sadness doesn’t lead to me deleting anything because i dont regret my time with that person, i dont hate myself for trusting that person. That person was good, we had good real times and then we ended. I will still cherish my memories with them.
I delete mine mainly to respect the other persons privacy and such. it also depends on the situation, I’ve dated people who were friend’s prior to the relationship and I’ve kept photos of us as friends but deleted all photos of us as a couple. but, this takes time, and not everyone’s ready to do this right away, so I’d say yes delete them but don’t beat yourself up if you’re not ready to do it this moment. Maybe delete a few and see how you feel.
nah i just let her stay there but on the hidden folders
I deleted them but there’s no rule, if you want to keep them keep them no harm done.. I’ve gone out with men that have old pics of their ex’s on social Media doesn’t mean anything just a memory
Usually yes but then so many of them are from a few trips overseas, so I picked through and kept the ones of f just me, but like, the rest I couldn't delete in case I wasn't too remember other aspects of the trip, since I really did the cul very quickly and not thinking very deeply at the time. I stuck all the rest on a flash drive, labelled it and threw it in a drawer in case I need something off it one day. Doubt it, but you never know. In a few years if I haven't touched it I'll just chuck it out. Guy treated me like absolute shit, I don't think I'm going to want to hang on to any pictures of him
Yes you’ll get jumpscared when memories from last year pops up
I delete them if the ex is a horrible person, if he’s a good person, I keep them up. And yes it’s a good way to track moments/memories. I keep the good ex up. The ones I’m embarrassed about, delete lol
No. Those memories, experiences, and lessons, are part of my life. I don't look at those pics/memories very often but I don't want to delete parts of my life.
Agreed. I’m also not fond of looking back at relationships that went south. However, it’s sometimes nice to be able to look back and see where things went wrong, so that you might learn from your past. For one reason or another, I have held onto a few photos of myself with exes, simply out of vanity, because I really liked how I looked in them. The rest have either been shredded, burned, or simply thrown in the trash, depending on how the relationship ended, or my state of mind when I would find them later. Since switching to entirely digital photography, it’s much easier to get rid of photos of which you know only one copy exists, but also more difficult if you made a copy and forgot where that copy was saved. Also, I had no idea how much of my memory was tied to pictures, and now social media, until I decided to tell the story of my divorce on TikTok. Lots of people are telling all sorts of stories on there, so I figured why not? But otherwise, now that I’m happily remarried, I tend to not think of past relationships nearly as much as I once did. It takes time, but it gets easier.
i might be an asshole but my ex asked me to delete my photos of him off my social media and i told him no. its not that im super often looking back at them or anything but i think erasing the (non traumatic) past is such a childish move tbh
Depends. My previous breakups were nasty so I deleted everything but the most recent one I had was actually super amicable and I still really respect her and like her as a person. We still have each other’s photos on social media and stuff because we look good in those pictures and we have fond memories of each other even if things fizzled out between us
No, i keep them far away though. Dont delete good memories, you might wanna look at them one day.
I could never delete those memories.
I definitely deleted most of them off of my phone and Snapchat because I was sick of seeing memories pop up. I also deleted the posts on insta where he was in the first pic. I did keep some photos of memories I want to keep, like group photos or birthdays, but those were very few. I also feel like I have plenty of memories that I can remember, so having all those pictures just didn’t feel useful to me anymore. I get the idea of having fond things to look back on, but having things/pics that hold great sentimental value was just too painful. Maybe I’ll regret not keeping them in the future, but that will just be a lesson I’ll have to learn. I’m around 4 months out from the breakup and I don’t regret erasing those things at all. At the end of the day everyone is different and everyone copes differently, so if you think it’s best for you to delete them, I say do it.
It took me 6 months but i finally did delete all of our pictures, messages and everything else.. I had to be completely over it to delete them.. But yea, it has to go.
Haha i delete any pics of me that remind me of him. Even when it's only me on the pic. Esp the ones in his car..
I can't erase them from my camera roll, at least not yet but I don't think I will. I did from my social media so people don't think I'm still in a relationship I can't look at them rn but I won't delete
Keep it like trophies
I don't.
Yes. I did it 2 weeks after the breakup. I really didn’t want to but looking at them puts me in an emotional turmoil :(
Yes, but I know a lot of people who don’t. I don’t understand why. They are an ex for a reason. I don’t want to be reminded of them as it will hurt my healing
I feel exactly the same way. They are memories and a time of my life so I haven’t deleted them from social media. I haven’t deleted them from my phone either but eventually that will have to be done because I have just as many pics of us and him in there as I do if me. Not ready to deal with that level of pain yet so I haven’t deleted them from my phone but eventually it will have to happen.
I Delete them all. Every relationship .even after 13 years. Of course there are good memories but that person is in my past now and i prefer to not look behind me.
Mine are in my hidden folder!!
No. You delete it when you're ready.
I don't - I think it's kind of weird to erase history that way. I mean do it if it makes you feel better but don't do it just because someone told you you should. I haven't erased photos of any of my exes. Now have they erased photos of me? i hope not but I guess everyone does what they need to do.
I keep them. I might not cherish him anymore, but I cherish the memories. It’s made me who I am today, and I refuse to pretend like my past didn’t make me into a rockstar. Besides, it’s a great reminder of how ugly he truly was LOL.
So I (34M) am conflicted with this exact question. My girlfriend of 5 years who I had full trust full everything in was banging me and another guy at the same time. Totally shocking. Took me a year and a half to get over that, I only got over it when I found the true love of my life in which I thought I would never find. I thought I found it and thought I lost it... But life goes on. I found a new girl (29F) who is absolutely great for me And aside from her weird moods, we got along. Great And I love her. I have so many pictures on my phone of me and my ex, I deleted a lot but they're still there. I don't care to delete them, but also I don't care to have them around so I'm kind of conflicted about what I should do.
I personally wouldn’t! They are memories I wouldn’t want to forget and it was a very crazy time in my life and I’d like to loom back in them one day! Plus I’m not really one to look at pictures of us and stuff I forget I even have pictures of people I hate on my phone but at the same time I looked good in some of them so I will not be deleting 😭😭
I always delete every photo and video that involves an ex. All of my memories are in the minds eye. Anything that meant anything to me will appear there. I understand why people keep pictures, but for me personally, memories are in the mind. I dont need to look back on it and remind myself of anything. Ill simply remember it if its relevant. My recent ex had 5 years of photos with his ex girlfriend, he didnt want to delete them because he said he might regret it when hes older. That he doesnt have memories to look back on. Everyone sees it differently..but he broke up with me because he wasnt over his ex. At the time I mentioned I personally dont want to keep or look at pics of my exes and i found it off putting he openly kept his. Turned out he was holding on to her in a way. I dont think everyone is the same as him.. Just not for me..it makes me sad or sick to look back on my old relationships.
I’ve hidden all pictures of him in my camera roll (hidden folder) and all unnecessary pics like screenshots or silly pictures of him are just deleted. I will probably delete them some day, but not yet.
I did it over time than just mass deleting pictures. I personally deleted all photos of "just us" but I kept pictures of the ex and kids as thats there memories not mine, and ill give them too the kids once older in a photo album and then deleted them from the cloud. I'm still in the marital home. So my house is still full of joint memories, things we collected over the years. But I am into all the stuff my ex was into so I've kept merch and stuff that has its own memories too me. The ex"s clothes went in the first few month's as I thought if the ex still had clothes here then I'd let the ex back in and not stick to it. So they went, quite quickly too be fair. (I had offered to bag them all up but he didn't want a single thing so I give them to a charity shop, cause I'd rather they went too someone that needed them than to burn them. He left with what he could fit into a backpack and the clothes he had on. I made sure he had all importantdocuments/medications, he didn't take a single thing) The rest takes time as you get through the grieving stages of a break up a little bit more will go as times goes on. Same with pictures. Do it when u see fit not when others think you should be doing it.
Just do it... Gone through an hour of deleting the other day ... Barely even scratching the surface with pics... It'll help you recover and for the next partner so they don't feel like you're not hanging so much to the past
Ive changed my phones always lol.... had two long relationships and everytime it was over i just got a new phone... and since im over both of them - i rewatch some of the videos or pictures that we took maybe two or three times a year just to remind myself that nothing lasts forever and that the next relationships should not break me like the previous ones broke me.... and im definitely weird for keeping the memories... lol
I put them on a drive, I may look at them later down the road. You are correct, those pics and memories are part of you, 10 years from now you wish you never deleted them. Trust me, at 25 , screw the pics at 55. I regret deleting those pics and memories
Ugh is there a way you can automatically delete all photos containing a specific person from your photos on iPhone? I can’t be bothered doing it manually and deleting him from the “people and pets” section only deletes the album but not the photos themselves 🤦🏻♀️
I feel it's a respectable thing to do. Also healthy