If you've ever experienced the post-Valentine's Day blahs -- the unfortunate result of cheap wine and the wrong guy -- then clear your calendar and celebrate Come to Your Senses Day (or C2YSD for short) this Sunday, February 15.

For those unfamiliar with this important holiday, which is dedicated to finally working up the nerve to leave a bad relationship, here's a quick history:



The holiday was created by Barbara Davilman and Liz Dubelman, editors of the new book "What Was I Thinking? 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories", a collection of tales of the worst men ever dated.

Click here
to read an interview with the editors about the holiday -- and some truly terrible boyfriends.


Hot Bod, Cold Heart

    Alex Rodriguez This skanky Yankee came under fire for getting cozy with a stripper at a Las Vegas Scores (ew), and was rumored to be cavorting with Madonna before the ink was dry on either of their divorce papers. Jerkometer rating: 7

    Getty Images

    Mario Lopez Who knew that A.C. Slater was such a dirtbag? The buff "Dancing with the Stars" stud reportedly cheated on one lady friend with a Hooters girl, and his two-week 2004 marriage to Ali Landry ended when she learned of his bachelor party antics. Jerkometer rating: 8

    Barry King, WireImage.com

    Jude Law He may be gorgeous, and nobody can resist that accent. But you know what we can resist? Sleeping with our nanny. Jude? Not so much. He and then-fiancee Sienna Miller eventually broke up, obvs. Jerkometer rating: 7

    Sony

    Matt Damon In 1998, Matt Damon told Oprah Winfrey during an interview on her show that he was no longer dating Minnie Driver. According to Driver, that was the first she'd heard of their breakup. Jerkometer rating: 2 (He gets points off for good behavior since.)

    Universal

    Hugh Grant In 1995, Grant was infamously pulled over by L.A. police for lewd conduct with prostitute Divine Brown. Girlfriend Liz Hurley forgave him and even appeared on his arm at the premiere of "Nine Months" days after his arrest. Jerkometer rating: 9 (extra points for dragging Leno into it)

    Dave Hogan, Getty Images

    David Beckham What is it with married celebrities and the hired help? Although he has always denied it (and OK, so there's no proof), Becks was accused in 2004 of sleeping with then-personal assistant Rebecca Loos. Jerkometer rating: 3 (That shirtless picture inspires our goodwill, OK?)

    Milk Processor's of America

    Chace Crawford We know two things about the "Gossip Girl" boy: He's a total hottie, and he dumped Carrie Underwood via text. US Weekly reported in April, 2008 that the pair "mutually" parted ways via cellular phones. Jerkometer rating: 1 (hey, we've done it too)

    Mark Von Holden, WireImage.com

    Charlie Sheen Among other lowlights, Sheen "accidentally" shot ex-fiancee Kelly Preston, spent thousands on madam Heidi Fleiss and symbolically took a chainsaw to his wedding portrait with Denise Richards. Ew. Jerkometer rating: What comes after infinity?

    E.J. Camp / CBS

    Ethan Hawke We were sad enough when this brainy babe's artsy-smartsy marriage to Uma Thurman ended. But to then shack up and have a baby with the nanny to his kids? For shame! Jerkometer rating: 4

    Mirimax / Everett Collection

    Ryan Philippe Although never officially confirmed, rumors still swirl that Ryan Philippe's divorce from his all-American wife Reese Witherspoon had a little something to do with an on-set affair with actress Abbie Cornish, now his girlfriend. Hmm. Jerkometer rating: 6

    Frank Masi, Paramount


How did you come up with Come to Your Senses Day?

Liz: We came up with the idea because we thought that women needed a holiday, a respite day where they could reflect on their relationships. If you're in the wrong relationship, you need to figure that out.

It's something that we have in common as women, but we often feel embarrassed about it. It's basically a time for women to get together and realize that we've all been through this [dating the wrong person].

Barbara: We take strength and courage from each other. I feel less alone when Liz shares her story. We're all trying to figure it out as we go along. It's great to laugh at yourself.

Besides having heart-to-hearts with friends and doing some soul-searching, how can someone celebrate C2YSD?

Barbara: We're having simultaneous readings in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles and Portland. We'll give away things, ask you for your stories; it should be fun and participatory.

What's the craziest story in the book?

Barbara: Mary Margarate Martinez wrote a story called "The Idealist." She once dated a porn star. Being a nice Catholic girl, she wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Liz: I like the story where this woman goes out with a yoga instructor and they get into this really intimate position and he adjusts her position during sex! She realized that he's not so enlightened as she'd thought.

We got all these from the Internet, Craigslist, Facebook, YouTube ... One of the things I found out was how many men were kleptomaniacs. They were just keeping souvenirs from their victims. There are two kleptomaniac stories in the book, but we had many times what could fit in the book.

Lemondrop: Is there a sequel in the works?

Both: There is! We are also talking about a stage play, greeting cards, movies, and a TV show based on the real stories.

Happy C2YSD!

Tell us! Do you have an outrageous dating story? Leave it in the comments and we may run it in a future post (anonymously, of course).

Ten Super Sappy Hollywood Romances

    The Bridges of Madison County
    There isn't a camera on the market with enough soft-focus for these love scenes.

    Everett Collection

    The Notebook
    All right! Jesus. You're a bird.

    New Line

    Ghost
    Just a few notes of "Unchained Melody" and we unchain our lunches all over our laps.

    Zuma Press

    City of Angels
    An angel falls in love with a woman, gives up his immortality for her... and then she dies.

    Everett Collection

    Up Close and Personal
    An older, wiser journalist shows a cub reporter the ropes in love and network news... and then he dies.

    Getty Images

    Sweet November A sprightly, devil-may-care young woman teaches an uptight guy to live again... and then she dies.

    Warner Bros

    A Walk to Remember
    Oh!.. She dies, too.

    Warner Bros.

    Love Story
    So does she!

    Everett Collection

    The Way We Were
    We WISH one of them died.

    Everett Collection

    Titanic Celine Dion! Celtic flutes! Awful dialogue! A tragedy of historic proportions indeed.

    Zuma Press