Old Flames, New Feelings: How Do Past Relationships Affect Today’s?

Abstract

Retroactive jealousy, defined as distress about a partner’s past romantic or sexual relationships, has become increasingly relevant in modern relationships, particularly as social media makes partners’ histories more visible and accessible. Despite its emotional intensity and potential to disrupt relationship functioning, it has received far less attention than traditional forms of jealousy that focus on present threats. The first aim of the present study was to develop and validate a revised measure of retroactive jealousy that could be used in current relationship research. Psychometric analyses supported a bifactor structure consisting of a general retroactive jealousy factor alongside cognitive, emotional, and behavioural dimensions. The second aim of the study was to examine how retroactive jealousy related to relationship satisfaction through key relationship processes and individual differences. Specifically, the study tested whether trust and conflict mediated the association between retroactive jealousy and relationship satisfaction. It also examined whether attachment anxiety and social media jealousy moderated these pathways. Adults currently involved in romantic or sexual relationships completed an online self-report survey assessing retroactive jealousy, attachment anxiety, trust, conflict, social media jealousy, and relationship satisfaction. Data were analyzed using factor analyses, mediation, moderation, and structural equation modelling. These analyses were used to test both the revised scale structure and the proposed path model. Results supported the revised retroactive jealousy scale, with the bifactor model demonstrating the strongest overall fit. Retroactive jealousy was not consistently associated with relationship satisfaction directly, but significant indirect effects emerged through trust and conflict. Higher retroactive jealousy was linked with lower trust and greater conflict, which were both associated with lower relationship satisfaction. Emotional retroactive jealousy did not show significant direct or indirect effects, cognitive retroactive jealousy showed limited associations, whereas behavioural retroactive jealousy showed both direct and indirect associations. Limited evidence was found for moderation by attachment anxiety and social media jealousy. Overall, the findings suggest that retroactive jealousy affects relationship satisfaction mainly through its impact on trust and conflict rather than through direct effects alone. The study also provides support for a revised multidimensional measure of retroactive jealousy that may be useful in future research. By examining both measurement and relationship processes, the present study contributes to the literature surrounding how past-focused insecurities can shape romantic relationships.