Hi,
I have every sympathy to you and what you are going through. I sense that the above posters (sorry...) been a bit judgmental with you and a little unkind...

I understood that you meant it was difficult for you to watch the exes in the pics with his kids. I think that fact that its not just exes, its exes whose pic was taken with the kids - makes it harder. I understand that emotion. But remember - he is with you now. He chose to be with you. Of course - this does not mean you need to look at pics with the exes. It his life. His past. He does not need to poster them for you...

The marriage plaque I think means that he found it hard to let go of his past. He is dealing with it now though - right?!

My BF has been married for 7 years. He had 2 daughters when he divorced. 2 years later we met. He still had a family (incl ex) board of pics on his wall. I found that strange but I could some how understand that too. He had 2 little girls and the change of their mum moving out of the house was huge so he wanted to make it easier for them. And for himself. Of course - after we dated 6 months we took it off and to this day I do not know where it is. And I do not care much.

I am guessing your boyfriend has difficulty with change. Also - he may found letting go of his life style and status quite hard. No so much the difficulty of letting go of his wife. Aso - he may still feel guilty for the relationship ending and the impact it had on his family. This is why the anger is there and the difficulty. So - yes he is attached to his past.

I think if you care about him give it time. But not too much time. See how things develop and if he grows closer to you. I would also get closer to his kids. They are apart of him. Do not forget your needs in the process and communicate openly to him about this.

About the work situation - Its hard to work in the same place as your bf. If you want this to lead somewhere I would look for another job but this is me. If you move or not - the idea is to put some sort of a divide between you and him and your life together if you know what I mean?

I can tell you - that my boyfriend and I have been over 6 years together and live together. His ex used to run his life when we met on many accounts and now she is dismissed on the spot if she even tries. This took a lot of work and boundaries setting from both of us and working on this together. Take baby steps and make your attachment to each other stronger. Work on your relationship with him and with his kids. Be kind and accepting. Not judgmental. And do things that make you feel good. See your friends, have a night to yourself, go the gym, etc...

If you both love and care for each other - it is worth the effort and I guess you have to know yourself how deep this is...

Hope this helps a little? xx