It’s the little things that make it hard—the way he casually asks about an old boyfriend when we’re out to dinner, or how he’ll suddenly bring up a man I once dated during an argument about something completely unrelated. I try to brush it off, but I can feel the tension building between us. His retrojealousy casts a shadow over our relationship. I love him, but I’m starting to feel suffocated by his constant comparisons. He’s competing with a past that no longer exists, and I don’t know how to make him see that. Is this a phase, or is it something deeper?

At first, I thought it was just a passing insecurity, something that would fade as our relationship grew stronger. But the more time passes, the more I realize that this jealousy has a grip on him that runs deep. It’s not just about my exes—it’s about his fear that he’ll never measure up. And that fear is slowly creeping into every part of our relationship. I miss the easy, lighthearted days we once had before these ghosts started haunting us. Now, I’m afraid that if he doesn’t let go, we’ll both end up prisoners to a past that was never meant to be part of our future.