Museum of Broken Relationships in Hollywood turns jaded lovers into artists

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Not all mementos and reminders of a former love affair are precious, especially those that end up with broken hearts. Jaded lovers have donated such items to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Southern California.

Hollywood may love a good love story, but it won't pass up a classic break up - that is why the city of broken dreams is now home to the Museum of Broken Relationships.

The museum, right on Hollywood Boulevard, is packed with more than 100 exhibits of the wreckage of relationships that have gone south.

"The kind of things that are left behind are the kind of things you'd save in a fire: the teddy bears, the photographs, the old t-shirts," said Alexis Hyde of the museum.

The Museum of Broken Relationships is to provide a place for people to anonymously donate items from past relationships to share stories and help create something "beautiful."

Local attorney John Quinn is the founder of the museum. During a vacation in Croatia, he spotted a similar museum and something clicked.

"I thought that this is something that more people should see, specifically people in L.A. should see. I thought it would really resonate here," he said.

Some items and situations are quirky, including one in which a woman sent her wedding dress in a jar. Others were a bit clichéd and poignant.

The items come from all around the world, each one with a few paragraphs to spell out its story.

Those knee-deep in the dating scene may even consider the museum as a first date, but if things don't pan out, you might be the next artist with an exhibit at a certain museum.