My (F49) boyfriend (M44) of a year and his ex

I’ve been with my guy for a year now. In April, I found out that he was still texting and randomly seeing his ex. He swore he was done with her and stupid me- I forgave him. In July I was out of town and he was acting funny on the phone. I suspected he was meeting up with her and I was right. My friend saw them at a restaurant and took a pic and sent it to me.

I confronted him, he said he feels sorry for her, doesn’t love her…blah blah blah. Then the ex sent me 25 screenshots of their texts… he told her I was a bitch, he was unhappy, and we never have sex. It’s bizarre, because none of that seems true. We laugh all the time and have sex a lot, and he seems genuinely happy.

He told me that he wants to be with me only and he is done with her. I cant get an answer about why he kept communicating with her and telling her he loved her and missed her. I’m too old to be so naive but I feel so naive. My ex-husband of 9 years was a cheater, my 10-year relationship after that was abusive and a cheater… so I shouldn’t be surprised or confused, but I am.

He’s seen her 7 times in a year, and texted with her frequently. Not daily but at least 4-5 times a week. They are no longer speaking - and he gives me his phone all the time to “prove it.” Is it possible that he truly felt sorry for her and was trying to make her feel better? Or was it just a side chick he was entertaining?

I already know I should end it, but I still like the guy for some weird reason. I’m just confused. He sells a good story.