Asking about a man’s ex-girlfriends can lead to trouble. In most cases, this question will either inspire a guy to incessantly talk about an ex — a floodgate you don’t want to open — or make him wonder whether you’re a little bit spooky. The only pertinent questions you need to ask about exes are:

1. How long ago were you together? Hopefully, they didn’t just split up — making you the doomed rebound woman. If the ex wasn’t an ex until yesterday that totally changes the situation. Do you really want to be with a man who was two-timing his girlfriend whilst seeing you?

2. What caused the relationship to end? If he says, ‘She was mad’, grab your shoes and run away from him. You don’t need some bitter ex around to make you nervous.

Every relationship ends with blood on both hands, and the good guys will admit in retrospect that they could have done a better job. Other than that, what more do you need to know? There’s only one word to describe the need to know about the ex-girlfriends your guy was in love with: masochism.