Jealousy is a feeling commonly associated with feelings of entitlement, a sense of loss, neediness, and insecurity.
These are the emotions we experience when a relationship ends.
While it comes with pain and anguish, this feeling is normal and healthy for humans.
It signifies our profound care for this person, recognizing their immense value in our life, which in turn fuels our determination to fight and reclaim their presence.
It is often evident when a woman feels jealous after her ex moves on.
However, given that men struggle with expressing their emotions, they tend to conceal this sentiment.
As such, a woman may question whether a man experiences jealousy when she moves on.
The truth is, men do indeed experience jealousy.
For instance, a male friend, with whom you have no romantic involvement, may feel envious when he sees you with another man, particularly if there is a sexual attraction involved. However, he may not openly communicate this to you.
Now, imagine if this person was someone you dated, were engaged to, or even married…
Here’s the fact: The bitter emotion consumes him internally at the mere thought of you being happy with someone else!
Why You Might Feel He Isn’t Jealous
As I mentioned earlier, a guy may make an effort to conceal his jealousy.
He might present himself as unaffected by the breakup, leading to negative assumptions that he never truly cared for you.
In many instances, a guy tends to withdraw and become silent immediately after the breakup.
There are no calls or texts, and even when you unexpectedly cross paths on the street, he may greet you briefly, perhaps compliment your appearance, and swiftly move on.
If you still maintain contact, he may express his wishes for your well-being and claim that you deserve happiness.
However, this does not necessarily indicate that he is content with the end of your relationship.
Why Jealousy Builds Up When You Move On
But what happens when he finds out you are going out again or sees you with another man?
The fact that you might be lost to him forever slaps him on the face.
So long as you are still single, there is a good chance of you guys working out your differences and getting back together.
But moving on makes him aware of a painful truth: that he does not own you, and you are slowly erasing him from your heart and life.
He might stay hooked on the fact that he is the best man you ever had, and you can never find someone new to take his place.
Besides, let us not be saints; we all find solace in knowing that our ex is somewhere feeling lonely and miserable.
It applies to men as well.
And when you move on, the fear of someone making you happier stirs up feelings of jealousy within him.
How Can You Tell That He Is Jealous?
The following are signs that your ex is jealous that you have moved on.
I. He tries to reconnect with you
The most common sign of a jealous ex-boyfriend is when he initiates communication with you upon discovering that you have moved on.
It could be in an attempt to try and get back with you, awaken some old feelings, or find out about your new relationship.
He will even act happy for you and offer you a friendly ear whenever you have issues in your newly formed relationship.
II. He starts to work on himself
When you see your ex working on all those issues that resulted in your breakup right after you start moving on, it means that he is jealous.
He doesn’t want to lose you completely, so he will try to do things that clear his path back into your life.
III. Violent outbursts
If you remained friends with your ex and noticed a lot of cursing words, raised voices, and angry tones, it might indicate that he is jealous.
He might start wasting away in alcohol, staying out late, and calling you in the middle of the night while drunk to insult you.
And then, once in a stable mood, he will call to apologize and try to reason with you about why you should get back together.
If the conversation doesn’t go his way, his mood swiftly changes, and he begins with the outbursts again.
IV. Confrontation
When you meet your ex while with your new boyfriend, he might attempt to cause a scene by picking a fight with your new partner.
Usually, the conversation starts well with him talking about how amazing you are but turns into cutting statements about you or your boyfriend.
Sometimes, such concentrations might lead to some punch-throwing.
V. He tries to make you jealous
A jealous ex might rush to get into a relationship with someone who looks or acts just like you or a better-looking girl to make you jealous.
He could do this to make you realize you still have feelings for him or feel you were never good enough.
In most cases, a jealous guy goes for that one girl he knows you to be jealous of.
Point for the Ladies
While pretending to move on could make your ex jealous and want to win your love back, it is not wise to exploit this weakness.
The truth is that it never works. Instead, it causes conflict and a complete lack of trust.
Jealousy could also push your ex-boyfriend or ex-husband to act impulsively and make some mistakes and poor choices that are hard to get back from.
Remember that men don’t handle emotional pain well, and a man’s jealousy is stronger than a woman’s.
It can easily sabotage your new relationship with no one to fall back on.
Your ex will resent you once he discovers you manipulated his emotions.
