MM is right on the money here... but I would add one more thing. Don't bring up the exes overly much. There is a time and place where you can talk about them, but don't slip them into the conversation at every turn and don't compare your new guy to them. It'd make him uneasy and definitely make him think that you have unresolved feelings for said exes.

shame on you MM you weren't supposed to make me cry again lol thanks for posting a happy ending, i felt like i could have written this (non) question as well. i am having the exact same experience, and it is VERY difficult to accept. i was telling one of my girlfriends the other day, "oh and you know what else? we DO disagree on things, and we just...TALK about it, can you even believe it??" and she just looks at me sort of sad and says, yes honey, that's how real relationships work. congratulations, its nice to see you finally found someone that deserves you, and that you deserve, and things will get even better from here if you start to believe that yourself." just writing that makes me teary, but you have to believe it too. i cant tell you how to do that because i am not quite there yet, but finding someone in your life that can tell you that regularly to remind you will help. thats how i'm doing it. the guy i'm with and i were playing a road trip game recently, with the objective to get to know each other better in a fun "non threatening" way. and so we had to answer questions as fast as we could saying the first thing that came on our mind. i've said this in another comment here somewhere as well. he asked me what my biggest fear was, what makes me sweat, and i blurted out relationships...and questions like these and tried to make a joke out of it. he did laugh, but you know, we talked it out, and he was GLAD i said that. and then i kicked his butt because when he answered that question he said "bees" just to be a dork and fake the cop out lol but the moral of the story is that we got so much closer from that one road trip game, way more than we would have with any fifteen minute roll in the sack, let me tell you. MM is right, you HAVE to communicate what page you are on, so they can get your perspective. otherwise your negative reactions to things and his behavior that triggers memories and the like are going to make him feel that it's him that you are being negative over, when it's really your past. dont think past the moment, cherish it, relish every delicious second at a time. and it becomes so much more beautiful, and trains your long term memory to start accepting what "good" really is. you can't undo the past but you CAN just leave it there. the more good moments you have to fill up those spaces the easier it gets, and the easier it gets to believe you deserve nothing but all of the amazing things that are happening to you. don't rush anything, it's your happy now, you've waited a long time for this, enjoy it, you deserve it. and way to go!!!!

Respectful is a great character trait...and yes, rare. I, too, have met "this guy" recently, after having been in the dating pool for over 25 years. Scary, huh?!

Know that you deserve this. And if he is the great guy he seems to be, he deserves a sweet girl like you.
And all of your other experiences with a-holes were valuable, it shows you just how much better you can do....and did.

Stay positive, light and enjoy yourself.
Hope you guys have a long, loving relationship.

Well, this wasn't a question. More like someone just stating something.