I've only met one when we first started dating, and she looked like she deeply regretted that he wasn't with her. It was an unexpected encounter and they both looked stunned to be face to face. There was definitely a moment between them. I thought, "Yep, you lost out! He's mine now!"
There's another woman that he's still friends with that he has a history with, a member of his close-knit group of college friends. She's gorgeous, sophisticated, exotic, well-traveled, funny, talented, as highly educated as it's possible to be, brilliant, and charming on top of it all. I genuinely like her and I can see why he did, too, but it doesn't hurt that she lives several thousand miles away and she's happily married now. :tongue:
TheBoyfriend likes all of my ex-boyfriend that he's met and they like him, which is good because I have a tight knit group of friends and they like to throw a lot of parties that we enjoy attending (or used to, we attend far fewer now that we're so far away now), so avoiding ex-boyfriends is nearly impossible. One of mine even likes him better than he likes me because they share so many interests in common. He's a very charming guy and my friends adore him, even the ones I used to date. I love that moment when an ex-boyfriend meets him and realizes, "Yeah, I can see why you're with him. He's a good guy. And fun, too."
He's only jealous of one ex-boyfriend and the reason is because he was my first love and I still hold him in high regard. He isn't concerned that I'll leave him. TheBoyfriend wants to be the most highly regarded by me, and he doesn't like any competition for the man whom I hold in highest respect. It probably helps a lot that we only talk about once a year to catch up with one another and he's also happily married.
Ex-boyfriends have dropped by my dad's house during the holidays to visit, and TheBoyfriend has insisted that we go out and catch up while he goes off and does something else with other friends. He doesn't mind when I talk to them on the phone or on FaceBook, and I tell him everything about all of our conversations. I would feel like I was keeping secrets from him if I wasn't open about stuff like that, and that would make me feel guilty. TheBoyfriend makes being open about those conversations easy because he doesn't act intimidated or immature about it. He knows that he has me wrapped around his finger and he has nothing to worry about.
I love the fact that he's not intimidated by other men and that he doesn't act petty or childish about the fact that I had a life before I met him. The closest that he's come to "reacting" is by acting like he's proud to be the one with me now, and I have no problem with that. :smile: