<div>Simply fill in the form. After the submission you will receive a confirmation e-mail with a printable version of the form with further instructions. To keep the gist of your story, we encourage you to write in your first language.&nbsp;<br><br>All donations become part of the Museum of Broken Relationships' permanent collection located in Zagreb, Croatia and are non-returnable. By accepting your donation, we cannot guarantee that your object and story will be exhibited. All the donations are displayed anonymously. Should you have any doubts or questions, consult our FAQ section or contact us (museum.collection@brokenships.com).​</div>

Global collection in Zagreb

<div>Your story can become part of the Museum of Broken Relationships collection and have an opportunity to be exhibited in our second location in Chiang Mai or elsewhere in the world. &nbsp;<br><br></div><div>Simply fill in the form. After the submission, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with a printable version of the form with further instructions. To keep the gist of your story, we encourage you to write in your first language.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>&nbsp; <br>All donations become part of the Museum of Broken Relationships' permanent collection and are non-returnable. By accepting your donation, we cannot guarantee that your object and story will be exhibited. All the donations are displayed anonymously. Should you have any doubts or questions, consult our <a href="https://brokenships.com/?open=faq">FAQ</a> section or contact us at <strong>infoTH@brokenships.com. </strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br><br></div>

Chiang Mai

<div><em>Have you ever had your heart broken? Do you own an object that won’t let you forget? Here’s your chance to give it the perfect new home!<br></em><br></div><div><strong>Galerie Elisabeth &amp; Klaus Thoman</strong> is co-organizing the collection of objects for Museum of Broken Relationships to be featured in the upcoming exhibition <em>After Love&nbsp; </em>curated by Benedikt Wyss as part of curated by festival in <strong>Vienna.</strong> <br> <br> All donations become permanent part of the Museum of Broken Relationships’ collection and have an opportunity to later be exhibited in the museum's permanent display in Zagreb or elsewhere in the world. <br> <br> <em>Become a part of global emotional history!<br><br></em><strong>Donation can be made until August 18th.</strong><br> <br> Just fill in this donation form. After submission you will receive a confirmation e-mail with further instructions on how to drop-off your object in Vienna.<br> <br> All donations are exhibited anonymously and are non-returnable. If you have any questions please contact us via galerie@galeriethoman.com or visit <a href="https://brokenships.com/visit?open=faq">brokenships.com/faq</a>.</div><div><br></div>

Vienna, Austria

<div>The Museum of Broken Relationships will be featured in the exhibition "<strong>After Love</strong>", curated by <strong>Benedikt Wyss</strong> at <a href="https://www.galeriethoman.com/"><strong>Galerie Elisabeth &amp; Klaus Thoman</strong></a> during the Vienna festival <a href="https://curatedby.at/"><em>curated by</em></a> from <strong>September 15th to October 17th, 2026.<br><br></strong>~</div><div><br></div><div><strong>About </strong><strong><em>curated by</em></strong></div><div>Each autumn, 24 Vienna-based galleries invite international curators to respond to a yearly changing theme in the form of an exhibition reflecting on the urgent issues of our time. This year’s theme is Love. As urgent as ever, as old as forever.<br><br></div><div><strong>On Love</strong>, an Essay by poet <strong>Ariana Reines</strong>, traces the contours of this elusive yet so familiar theme:<br><br></div><div>"I will simply say that our problem, currently, is one of orientation. It may be that we are living through a period of such spiritual squalor, such moral depravity that people really do need to be reminded that love is, in fact, something good and praiseworthy—a viable subject or focus for art—but the real issue at hand is that love is no longer central, no longer foundational to the structure of our societies. We are rotten at the core and we know it."</div><div><br></div><div>(...)</div><div><br></div><div>"Is that not love?<br>I say throw yourself into it.<br>Don't turn love into 'a practice'.<br>Make a mess of it.<br>Let it take over.</div><div><br></div><div>See what happens when you refuse to go anywhere Love won't go, or create in any mode or medium that fails to make your heart sing..."<br><br>Read the <a href="https://curatedby.at/on_love">full essay</a>.<br><br></div><div>~<br><br></div><div>We’ve launched an <a href="https://brokenships.com/?open=contribute&amp;selectedMuseumId=0acdfde4-66f6-40a6-96fc-59c6216fa918"><strong>open call</strong></a> for local contributions, <strong>based in Vienna</strong>. Please do join in and share your story if your heart desires.<br><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

Museum of Broken Relationships at curated by 2026

<div>The <strong>Museum of Broken Relationships</strong> will be featured in the upcoming exhibition <strong>"After Love"</strong>, curated by Benedikt Wyss at <strong>Galerie Elisabeth &amp; Klaus Thoman</strong> during the Vienna festival <em>curated by</em> from <strong>September 15th to October 17th, 2026</strong>.</div><div>A local call for contributions is officially open until August 18th, 2026. Be daring, be brave, and don’t miss this opportunity to share a part of your intimate history through an anonymous donation.</div><div>The submission process starts right <a href="https://brokenships.com/?open=contribute&amp;selectedMuseumId=0acdfde4-66f6-40a6-96fc-59c6216fa918">here</a>.</div><div><br></div><div><br><br><br></div><div><br></div>

Vienna Call for Donations

D.'s stomach had a particular arrangement of body hair that made his belly button prone to collecting lint. Occasionally, he'd extract a piece and stick it to my body, which was sweaty after sex. One day, angry he'd disrupted the heavy charge that lingered in the wake of an orgasm, I met his oddity with my own: I put the lint in a small baggie and concealed it away in the drawer of my bedside table. 
Our relationship was tumultuous; as off-again as it was ever on. From time to time, he would remind me that he wasn't really in love, but I blithely ignored the warning. He gave me his lint, after all.

Belly button lint

14.5 years, 4 countries and 3 rings. I lost the first ring down a drain and he replaced it. I broke the second one trying to bend it back into shape and he replaced it. I looked after the third one exceptionally well, realizing how important this must be to him. He left me.


2 Claddagh rings

You were my first love. And I wished you would also be my last. When we got those fortune cookies and I opened mine, it read ‘You have to learn to read between the lines’. I should have followed that advice because between those lines there was you cheating on me over and over. Isn't that ironic?


Empty bag of fortune cookies attached to a Starbucks cup

When I was a child, we used to have a ‘special’ hairdryer. Once switched off, it sometimes took a while before it could be used again as it somehow overheated. We tended not to switch it off whenever several family members needed the hairdryer one after the other.  During the relationship with my ex-boyfriend he often used the hairdryer before me since, most of the time, he took a shower first. Although it was not the same hairdryer, I often asked if he could check whether I was ready to dry my hair and hand the running hairdryer over to me...   He almost never did, but turned the hairdryer off instead.


Hairdryer   

In 1990 my friend, my first great love, had a motorbike accident. Its consequence was severe road rash with several large scabs. The accident shocked me although nothing serious happened. From then on, I had a constant fear that I might lose my dearest one. For that reason, I kept one of his scabs after it had fallen off, with the (not so serious) idea in mind of having him cloned in the future if need be. I was studying biology at the time. In the end, my constant fear for him led to our breakup. Paradoxically, my fear caused exactly that which frightened me most.

I have kept the scab to this day, for twenty-seven years. Although I have since become a biologist, I have long lost the desire to clone my then partner. My fears, however, I still struggle with…

Twenty-seven-year-old scab from my first love’s wound

My first true love. We got together just before we started our studies and we became adults together. We studied and lived together, and then finally realized that we had different expectations for the future. We separated quite suddenly without saying goodbye properly. Six months after the separation I got this doll from his parents as a Christmas present together with a letter explaining that the doll's name is Forget-me-not and that they hope I will never forget them. They were always so good to me and I really loved them. I have not forgotten. And I never will. 


A Forget-me-not porcelain doll  

We met at a students Valentine's Day party, the connection was immediate. She came into my life at its lowest point. 

I had just lost my company and was heavily in debt, working 2 jobs I really hated to pay back my loan.

She didn't care. She adored me and loved me blindly and unconditionally, she was the only positive thing in my life and she kept me going.

One evening we were in the Metro, getting a pizza for a movie night at home. A guy we didn't know approached us and asked if we are a couple. Defensively I said yes, and asked why does he wish to know? He said "your love feels so special so I wanted to give you this".

He handed us a torn first page of a book he was reading, on which he drew us, and wished all the best.

We were so touched and amazed we didn't know what to say.

She was my soulmate, my best friend, lover and the love of my life. That's why I broke up with her.

My life at the time felt like a sinking ship, and I didn't want her to go down with me. She was accepted into a good university abroad, but was about to give up her dreams in order to support me, and wouldn't listen to me when I told her to go.

So I broke up with her, and broke her heart.

About 4 months later when I almost lost my life in a work accident, I contacted her and told her the accident made me rethink my life, and I would move abroad to support her like she supported me. She told me I am couple of months too late. She has moved on, has a new relationship and she doesn't want me in her life.

I couldn't find the strength to throw the drawing away.

I never stopped loving her for a moment, and I'm happy for her, and hope that some day I will find some as amazing as she was.


A drawing of us made by a stranger in the train

His dream was to be a fashion designer. He had just finished university in New York City and came to live with me in Europe. We had met the previous summer in Norway and kept the flame alive via Skype. On a hot summer day in 2001 we drove into traffic-crazy Paris, parked on the pavement in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and bought the mannequin. The sun was shining on our relationship and our hopes. Years went by and no paid work was in sight for him; maybe we lacked drive or maybe we were just out of luck. The mannequin was mostly standing idle, at times serving just as an expensive clothes hanger. His fashion design dream was broken, but our relationship was still working on the surface. Broken dreams and lazy days might not have been the most fertile ground in the long run. We drifted towards our 40s – drifting slowly apart with the occasional crises. Communication between us got quieter. The talk was more superficial; problems were just tolerated, never really addressed. We shared the same small apartment in downtown Oslo, yet we lived in separate worlds with very different aspirations. Like naked mannequins in a shop window. Lonely lives together. Three years ago, we separated and he left the mannequin behind, along with our broken dreams. When the rainy days of the separation had gone, I realised that even a broken relationship has many sunny moments. Moving on, I want to celebrate those good moments by donating the mannequin to this collection. Reality can be hard on dreams but, even so, never stop dreaming.

Stockman mannequin

As a child of 13 I was diagnosed with gastritis. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s an inflammation of the stomach lining resulting in gastric juices frequently rising and entering the upper digestive tract. The most common trigger is frequent nervous agitation and loss of patience. It results in quite a nasty pain and a lot of discomfort. With time I had reduced the dose to occasional intake i.e. I took them only when the need arose. I wrestled with it because I was one of those people who always kept silent and said everything was OK. In time, I found my ‘ill-fated high school love’, as I’m sure many of you who are reading this now also have. Why all such loves have to end in ruin, I don’t know. All I know is that mine was fierce, at times painful, and certainly became ruined. We both despised materialism by nature, and so even when it came to birthday presents, expensive gifts or things we already owned weren’t tolerated. For my 18th birthday, when everyone expects a bottle of something strong or a gift-wrapped packet of condoms, my ‘ill-fated high school sweetheart’ appeared with an EXTRA LARGE packet of my gastritis tablets. I remember her saying, ‘Here, take them when I get on your nerves or before I go out with the girls’. And yes, I used them. Frequently. The biggest dose I’ve ever taken was 3 tablets within an hour, and that was right after we broke up.

A packet of gastritis tablets – CONTROLOC

In 2002, when I was still young and innocent, I spent November and December in Vancouver, Canada, to improve my English so I could subsequently study a semester at a university in New Zealand. Three weeks before I left, a girl from Brazil arrived and... I really fell in love for the first time in my life. It was complicated: I was confused, she had a boyfriend in Brazil... Nonetheless, she was the sincerest and the most naturally warm-hearted girl I had ever met. 

I returned to Switzerland heartbroken. I was devastated. Being Swiss, I liked watches and so, in addition to the watch on my left wrist showing local (Swiss) time, I put another watch on my right wrist showing her time. Even though I was constantly thinking of her (she had returned to Brazil), I stuck to my plan and went to New Zealand for six months. 

When I came back, I had gotten used to wearing two watches and kept doing so. I was always wearing them – when swimming, sleeping, pretty much all the time except when going through security checks. Now, whenever I travelled, I had both Swiss and the local time on my watches. It became a reminder that people in various places in the world had also taken a place in my heart.

One day the watch broke down. I took it off but couldn’t fall asleep that night, so I put it back on again and fell asleep. Hence, I kept wearing the broken watch and it slowly continued to disintegrate. Water got into it; sand got into it; scratches accumulated on the glass until it cracked and started falling out bit by bit; the face plate followed suit; the inner parts eroded... The left wrist remained exact Swiss time; the right wrist showed the slow changes in life.

My friends didn’t like the watch and would tell me to take it off or joke that one day they would hack off my hand and throw it out the window along with the watch. The poor guys had to listen to the story of the watch whenever we met new people who curiously noticed it. Some could tell the story so well themselves that people got confused whether it had happened to them (telling the story) or me (wearing the watch). Girls I met would also learn the story. Some were intrigued, others weren’t amused. I kept wearing it anyway. It had grown on me.

I visited the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb twice in the last two years and really liked it. However, I found a lot of the stories rather sad (naturally, one would think). So, I thought I’d send you this watch that has now accompanied me for 15 years as a sign that even when a love story ends, we can continue to draw happiness and beautiful memories from it and give it new meaning over time. 
 
What became of the Brazilian girl it all started with? She is living happily in Brazil. I met her when I travelled there in 2013, and we write to one another from time to time. I still think she is an amazing person and I’m happy that our paths had crossed in 2002. 

Watch

For a long time he loved the coffee I made for him using the espresso machine he gave me.
For a long time he loved me.
And then, one day, he no longer loved the coffee I made for him using the espresso machine he gave me.
And then, one day, he no longer loved me and left.
And so I took the espresso machine he gave me that made the coffee he loved
and I put it in the basement
so I don’t have to look at it anymore...
But every time I come down to the basement, there it is.


An espresso machine

These are my dreads. Morbid, I know. But notice the braided ends. I didn't do that. Must have been every week for a year. She even tied them together using matching sewing thread. Our nuptial knots. Ten years old, a cut-off from our lives. They belong in a museum.

Dreadlocks

Description: a stupid Frisbee, bought in a thrift store, was my ex-boyfriend’s brilliant idea – as a second anniversary gift. The moral was obviously that he should be smacked with it right across the face the next time he gets such a fantastic idea. Since the relationship is now preceded by the word “ex,” the Frisbee remains in the Museum as a nice memory and expelled negative energy. Feel free to borrow it if you like.

PS Darling, should you ever get a ridiculous idea to walk into a cultural institution like a museum for the first time in your life, you will remember me. At least have a good laugh (the only thing you could do on your own).


Stupid Frisbee

We met in graduate school and were quickly engaged. Shortly after we were married I went to a local shelter and rescued a cat. Although we named him Milo, we had many nicknames for him. Chicken, Chicken face, Wubbies, Wubbles and Wubbs.
We were at a street fair and made a sign out of old license plates and spelled out "WUBBS." It was such a great day and the sign hung above our door for years.
We were divorced in January.
I can't bear to look at it anymore. I can't donate it because it's so personal to our story. I also ... can't seem to throw it away.
It evokes feelings of happiness as I remember the wonderful afternoon spent making the sign and the love I have for my sweet animal. On the other hand, it makes me sad and angry and frankly represents a failed marriage.
I'd be happy to donate the sign to the museum. This way the special memory won't die the way our marriage did.


Sign made of license plates

My godmother was really godly to me. I felt understood and she was generous beyond all measure. For Christmas or on a normal day, she rained presents to me. Whatever I wished, I got. My relatives were green with envy. One day I eavesdropped while my mother was on the phone. I can only remember how puzzled I was by the term “anonymous alcoholics”. I did not really know what that might be, so I coined my own definition without asking anybody. At some point my godmother moved to another country. She did not say goodbye to me and I have never understood why. My mother told me that she had to abandon everything – her husband, her children, me – in her old life in order to start anew… Until today I have not asked what had happened. My “Gotti” is back – I have met her shortly. We are still very close, I can feel that. We have not spoken about the old days. But I intend to ask her.

Action man

Around the time of my twenty-seventh birthday my boyfriend gave me this. Perhaps because we’d agreed we wouldn’t have sex until we got married. Four years later we did marry, having kept our promise. Seven years after that we separated. We didn’t click sexually even though we created and were raising a beautiful child.

It took me a long time to realize how much good sex matters.


Black dildo

Josh

The Promise

They met at a place full of chaos. It was amazing to believe the strong connection between them, it was like magic. For her, he was the one. He love sunsets as much as she did. But the sun never rose for them again.

A "See you later" lost in time

the end of the

Extinción

Ghosted

I'm sorry, but I'm also not.

Breakup

We met in February of 2018 two days after his birthday and and three days before mine. We started dating in March of the same year. He was leaving for college in August and we both weren’t willing to end things once he went away. We spent every single day together in the short five months before he went away. The day came for him to leave so we packed up three cars and with his family we drove from our hometown to his university. Long distance was hard and we both decided it was for the best to end things a little after a month of him moving away. We both wanted to stay together but also didn’t want to hold each back and he’s happy now and that’s all I ever wanted for him. I miss him so much and wish we would’ve found a way to make things work but I couldn’t provide what he needed being four hours away and he couldn’t do the same for me. I still do love him as a person and will always wish the best for him considering what an impact he’s made on my life. 

Unforgettable 

i went to get my documents from high school, i meet a girl who i knew her before and i started just talking to her and asking how she is doing. my girlfriend found out that i talked to her and then after she broke up with and went with someone else...

trust

Incredible friendship that couldn't be more because of age and distance tragically destroyed. 
Can't love with or without each other but will have to learn the latter 

when love isn't enough

When I went for a walk with my dog, he found another dog. thus, he broke up with our neighbour dog and only plays with the new dog now.

My dog broke up with his girlfriend

You tell me you love me but you actually dont


I was in Love

We were highschool sweetheart,we dated for almost 9 yrs. We have our bumps and trials during our relationship, it took me 4-5 years before i realize that hes the one i wanted to be with.  People look up into our relationship knowing we will be forever together. We define the forever in the relationship. Where people tell our story to other people to inspire them that Love has no ending if you truly love someone, we define love as making the imperfect person perfect for you. But then again, things change as we grow together our love grew  in separate ways. He loved me so much for the fresh years of us being together,he made me realize that hes he one for me, everything he does is for us.  He have given me everything i wanted except one,he's time. We argue almost everytime because of time. Later on when i accepted and understand that i should love him as much as i can, cause im so lucky that i have found a guy who would do everything for me just to give everything i wanted and to make me happy every single time even if he had to work almost every hour just to give me the things i wanted. So the moment i realize he the one that God had given to me, i spend the rest of days showing how much i love him  and it came to a point where , i loved him so much that everything i did is to please him. I loved him so much that i forgot there are other people love me and supported me. I loved him so much that i focused all my time to him instead of my friends. I loved him so much that i wanted to there at his side watching him accomplish his goals forgetting mine. I loved him so much that i forgotten what i wanted in life aside being with him for the rest of my life. I loved him so much that i thought i only needed him in this world. I loved him so much that i forgot to love myself. He left me when i thought i needed him  the most. The perfect guy left me with some other woman. Even if he left me i still feel thankful that he made me realize my worth and help me to become the person i am today.

Then 2018 hit me, 
2018 is a huge change for you Ariel, by now you should have realize what are your priorities in life. Keep in mind all of your actions affects the people around you. Be sensitive , considerate and value their effort showing you how much they love you. Youre not alone, you have people at your back to support you when life gets darker. Your family and friends are not your enemies their your soldiers who will fight with you in battles. Changing your perspective in life into a more positive results will lessen the anxiety of overthinking. Every thing happens for a reason. Always remember how good our God is for always listening to your prayers and guiding you to the right path towards his plans. He never showed you that your alone in this world, every people you meet are angels that the lord sent you to feel his presence. Continue being a blessing to others, you never know your the angel that the lord sent for  them to brighten their day.

Forevermore no more

Pedro

Well to be fair I was kind of a moron at 15. So I got dumped on MSN messenger after a week. But looking back on it, people are young and need to figure out what makes them feel happy. So no hard feelings or emo lyrics for this one.

If you haven't been heartbroken or taken a look in the mirror, you'll never understand how to build and grow your personal character. No one's perfect but everyone is able to learn. 

MSN messenger because I was hyperactive and annoying at 15

We survived quarantine and isolation without getting COVID-19, but our relationship fell apart as we both became two totally different people grappling with everything going on around us. Depression, unemployment, lack of socialization and so much more morphed us into sad versions of ourselves. We held on as long as we could. But we couldn’t find a way to move on from the trauma. 

What doesn’t kill you will definitely make you break up 

This story is about healing enough that your roots no longer belong in the same garden. We found our way back to each other once and from there we were together for 3 years. This time I don't think there will be anymore coming back to each other. 

There is a lot of love present and it didn't end in anger. It just kinda ended.

Everything and something more

<div>Persönliche Erinnerungsstücke gesucht! <br>Was bleibt, wenn eine Beziehung zu Ende geht? Das fragt das Museum of Broken Relationships. Das Museum lädt dazu ein, eigene Objekte und Geschichten von gescheiterten Beziehungen abzugeben. <br>_______________________________________________________ <br><br>Die nächste Ausstellung gastiert vom <strong>23. Januar bis 11. April 2027 </strong>im <strong>LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur in Münster.</strong>&nbsp; <br>Alle abgegebenen Objekte und Geschichten gehen in die Sammlung des Museum of Broken Relationships ein und könnten sowohl in Münster, in der permanenten Ausstellung in Zagreb oder anderswo auf der Welt gezeigt werden. <br><strong>Die Objekte können vom 9. Oktober bis zum 15. November 2027 im LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur zu den Öffnungszeiten abgegeben werden.</strong><br> <br>Adresse: <br><strong>LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur <br>Domplatz 10 <br>48143 Münster </strong><br>&nbsp;<br>Öffnungszeiten: <br><strong>Dienstag – Sonntag, 10 – 18 Uhr</strong> <br>Dafür müssen Sie nur das folgende Formular ausfüllen. Danach erhalten Sie eine Bestätigungs-Mail, die Sie unterschrieben mitsamt dem Objekt an der Kasse abgeben. <br>Sollten Sie über keinen Drucker verfügen, so ist der Ausdruck zu den Öffnungszeiten der Museumsbibliothek auch vor Ort möglich: <strong>Di – Fr, 10–18 Uhr</strong>. Dort gibt es auch persönliche Unterstützung beim Ausfüllen des Formulars.<br> <br>Alle Objekte werden anonym ausgestellt und können nicht zurückgegeben werden. <br>Bei Rückfragen können Sie sich gerne wenden an: <strong>museumkunstkultur@lwl.org&nbsp;</strong></div>

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