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Shades of Meaning
I am not jealous, I am envious
There are inevitable comparisons between new relationships which develop following a break up. Sometimes there seems to be a race to be remarried after a divorce. I once saw a newly divorced friend bring a date to her son’s bar mitzvah. They weren’t seriously involved. He was her new boyfriend. It gave me the impression she was trying to prove she was more successful at moving on than her ex-husband who attended solo. It was kind of an uncomfortable place to meet the guy.
There is often a rivalry between past and present partners. We may feel jealous if our partner finds someone younger/thinner/prettier/more or less something than us.
The definition of jealousy according to diffen.com:
Jealous means “apprehensive or vengeful out of fear of being replaced by someone else.” It can also mean “watchful, “ “anxiously suspicious, “ “zealous, “ or “expecting complete devotion.” The last is normally applied to God.
Feeling jealous involves three people where we are worried about being replaced by someone who seems superior to us in some way.
I had no reason to feel jealous about women my husband was involved with because he had left me long before he moved out of the house. I did envy his girlfriends for an unusual reason. They had intact…
