It’s strange how my past has become such a big part of our present. My husband’s retroactive jealousy has turned into something I never expected—a constant need to compare himself to the men I once knew. He’ll ask me questions that feel more like interrogations, always trying to figure out how he stacks up against people who are no longer in my life.

I try to reassure him, to remind him that those relationships ended for a reason, that he’s the one I love. But it’s like he doesn’t hear me. His insecurities run so deep that no matter what I say, it doesn’t make a difference. He’s trapped in his own mind, constantly measuring himself against ghosts, and it’s exhausting.

I wish I could help him see that he doesn’t need to compete with anyone. The men I dated before him are just that—men I dated before him. They’re not a threat to our marriage. But his jealousy is making him act as though they are, and it’s starting to affect how I feel about us. I want to move forward, but I can’t do that if he’s stuck in the past.

I love him, but I don’t know how much longer I can live like this. His jealousy is becoming a wall between us, and I’m afraid that if we don’t find a way to break it down, it will destroy what we have.