welcome
Mashable

Mashable

Entertainment

Entertainment

Why do we become obsessed with our partners' exes?

Mashable
Summary
Nutrition label

76% Informative

Obsessing over a partner's ex feels dirty and salacious, shameful and delicious.

Psychotherapist Toby Ingham says retroactive jealousy is an "obsessional problem" fueled by "old injuries, things that predate any kind of dating history by a long time" Psychoanalyst Dr Darian Leader coined the term " Rebecca Syndrome " in 2006 .

In a world in which our attention is constantly being monetized, these acts of being and being perceived take on new meaning.

We linger and lurk on the profiles of other women with an internalized male gaze.

For Sojit Pejcha , spending years looking at her partner's ex through a quasi-male gaze led her to confront her.