Hi Rose,

Have you met or spent any amount of time with his ex? I ask because perhaps she’s not as abusive as he’s saying and he’s projecting his own actions/behavior onto her. He seems pretty possessive and potentially abusive himself, from what you’ve said, especially the part where he blew up on you and then ignored you for asking him to stop bashing her in front of you and again when you asked about the keepsake boxes. I think it’s okay for people to keep mementos of past relationships, but I think the fact that he was looking at them recently suggests he’s probably not entirely over her, and that’s maybe also why he can’t stop bashing her and keeps overreacting when you question him regarding her.

I also think it’s inappropriate for him to be messaging guys that hit on you or like your photos. I remember a boyfriend I had once when I was younger. He was really jealous and possessive in this way. He would question everything, would get mad if a guy friend stopped by my house, and I once told him someone hit on me but I shut the guy down, and he yelled at ME for getting hit on. lol.  Turns out that guy was cheating me a whole lot and with at least 8 different women that I know of. So that’s something you might need to think about, too. I think people who are THAT possessive/jealous are often that way because they’re afraid the significant other is going to cheat because they, themselves, are cheating.