My wife never talks about her ex. He's dead and there's no love lose. We see my children's mother and it's ok ... I think. I see tension in my wife and work with her to help her feel like she's the queen of our castle. I try not to spend to much time talking to my children's mother. I mostly listen to her and her friends journeys. I keep it simple and I'm smart about not doing anything to cause an alert.

They would relegate themselves to the sex only zone

It kind of depends on what they are saying. If they are bashing them all the time, I'd rather they not. (Also, red flag! If they talk thst way about some one else there is a good chance they will talk to me in the same manner. If they just are just stories or anecdotes I'm good with that.

Totally depends. Could be 100% okay or not, whether it's talking about them all the time or never, based on what they say and how they say it.

Whatever it ends up being, it's vitally informative. I should have run for the hills after how much and what my ex said about his ex-wife in the first three weeks of our dating. I thought it was okay because of the way he was comparing me (effusively positively) to his ex. I didn't pay enough attention to the fact that he was constantly running down his wife of 20+ years and the mother of his children. sigh Lesson learned...

I don't mind hearing about ex's. As as they left their baggage behind, like I have left mind behind. Most part women don't like hearing about mens ex's. Even though they pretend to nod they are OK with it.

As far as I remember its never happened to me but I am getting old and forgetful.

I voted other. I don't think it is appropriate for a first date but when you get to the point of discussing your relationship histories it is necessary. After that, in small doses is ok.

If someone has shared custody of minor children, then you are getting into a relationship with all of them including the ex and their partner...

Depends on the situation and for how much really , everyone has a past and to try and deny it is being unreasonable

If they were discussing all their past relationships, I think that would be a GIANT red flag!

Exs are going to come up on conversation as in, "when i went to over there with my ex, ...." or "i realized giving up things i want to do just because my ex wasnt into it is not good for a relationship."

Now if its nothing more than a "my ex bitchfest" yeah, not so much.

I enjoy hearing about it, so long as it isn't all subjectively negative. Meaning, if it is just talking bad about them because they are the 'ex', it makes me think,"What are they gonna say about me if this doesn't work out?" If it is about abusive behavior, I don't mind being a sympathetic ear and trading war stories.

I wouldnt want to be involved in acting like a therapist for a former relationship, At my age I hope there have been others and it would be hard to talk about this person's life without including past partners. I do pay close attention to how they are discussed though

Mostly, it depends on how they are talking about their ex. If it is about how lucky they were to get away. That's OK. If it's about how nasty they were and all men (women) are the same. Not OK. If it's about how they really messed up and the ex got away. That's really not OK.

Knowing about past relationships and how they describe them can give me valuable insight into their personality and character traits. The information is valuable to me in determining the future of our relationship. Better to know than be surprised.

I went with "Other". The reason is that it depends on the situation, and ALL of those answers have been true for me at some point or another. The way a person talks about their ex, or chooses not to, can reveal a great deal about their relationship skills, and whether they have healed and learned from a previous relationship and what caused them to fail or otherwise come to an end. It could also be educational to listen and learn to avoid mistakes made by their ex. An ending isn't necessarily indicative of failure and could be a sign of maturity.

I am OK with it. At my age everbody has a past!

No problems within normal boundary.

Depends on the context.

If she says, WOW, Whew! my ex never did THAT to me before! Is that even legal in this state?

I'ld be ok with it.

I'm good with it as long as it is not negative. Not that I want them fauning about them either.

I guess it depends on the context. If she's obsessed with her ex — what a dirtbag he was when they were together or what he's up to now or how great he was in bed, said wistfully whenever we're intimate {grumble, grumble} — that's a red flag that something's up and she's not fully present in our relationship. But if she merely says things about him in passing, like "Oh, when X and I went to Paris, we visited the Louvre" or "X could be abusive sometimes, though I didn't recognize the pattern at the time," then I'm fine with it. I figure her past made her who she is, so I can't expect, and shouldn't want, her to ignore or hide her past relationships.

It really depends on how much they do it, and what talking about an ex (or exes) does to their demeanor.
I pay close attention to such conversations. Much can be learned about a person by listening to them talking about an ex. If they do it incessantly, and with rancor, that's a pretty good sign for me to bail before things go any farther.

It's usually a big red flag. I used to brush it off in the past, but I have learned through experience that it is a significant signal that the person has not moved on or put the negative aspects of past relationships behind. In my opinion this behavior can be a sure signal that they will project the actions of others upon you and over analyze your every move based upon their hang-ups about their ex.

Especially at first it should be kept as a minimum. If a girl won't stop talking about their ex. No matter what it will makes me believe they are not yet over them in some fashion. Whatever the reason is it doesn't matter. The only thing you need is a friend and time to get over them. I usually never talk about exes especially when I first begin dating. I feel at that point it's like your conjuring them.

I think the past is the past - I make a point of not mentioning exes to current partners. It's not that it 'bothers' me as such - just that 'private moments' remain private even when with an ex.

Never a good idea to bring it up early on, but it can be theraputic and helpful for mutual understanding later in the relationship. It is important to speak in terms of what the past relationship has taught. Involves understanding and Self discovery, learning from past mistakes and Moving Forward to a happier and healthier life. Never good to be stuck in the past.