How do you handle being the "stepping stone" ex only to be erased?
My ex and I were together for 1.5 years in the Navy. During our time together, I put in a tremendous amount of emotional labor: I helped him explore his sexuality, feel comfortable in his own skin, and guided him through the process of coming out to his family.
When I left the service in late 2024, we split amicably under the agreement that long-distance relationships just don't work for us. We stayed cordial. Shortly after, he met another service member. Before transferring to Japan, he fast-tracked an engagement with this new guy who is stationed all the way in Louisiana. The LDR rule suddenly didn't apply. To top it off, he blocked me everywhere and deleted every single photo of us "out of respect" for his new fiancé.
It feels like my maturity, stability, and guidance were used as a safe harbor while he figured himself out, only for our history to be completely scrubbed the moment he felt secure enough to step into his new life. My mind hasn't stopped thinking about this since! Am I wrong for feeling some kind of way about this?
I'm pretty sure the consensus will be "get over it and move on," but damn, that's cold-blooded to me!