Why did my ex post a photo with his girlfriend right after we talked again for the first time?

[SomewhereElse]

I broke up with him in February because he kissed someone else and didn't want to be committed. Since then, we've had very minimal contact through shared friends. A few days ago, I reached out to him because I saw something that reminded me of him and I also wanted to hear what he'd been up to.

He got fairly active on his Instagram after the breakup, mostly posting selfies - but I heard that he started dating someone in June through mutual friends. I'm not particularly active on my own Insta, but when I checked it a few days ago, I noticed that he unfollowed me although he used to watch the few stories I posted pretty much as soon as I did. I found it odd since we had a very civil breakup, but figured he doesn't owe me anything and reached out anyway. Ended up having a nice chat, in no... and then today, he posts a selfie with his girlfriend on his story.

Is it just me or is the timing a bit strange? They've been together for a while, there have been (very subtle) hints that she exists on his profile before so it's not like she's been a secret... almost feels like he now wants to show her off to me or something. What do you think this is all about? Is it kind of a primitive "back off, I'm taken" thing? Bragging? Pure coincidence?

[Squirts93]

You scarred him. He thinks that any time he talks to another girl, his current mate will break up with him. His coping mechanism is to reaffirm his love to his current mate in hooes that she won't question him.

You should probably stop talking to him forever if you actually care about him.

[SomewhereElse]

Thank you for answering! Wow, this is a possibility I hadn't considered before at all. I didn't mention it in the original question, but we did have a talk about being committed earlier in the relationship (and both agreed we only want to see each other). So when he kissed another girl and wanted to not be committed, I was really hurt. I didn't want to leave him, but I also didn't want to be strung along until someone better came along which is what it felt like when he suddenly wanted to be casual.