Search Results: she needed time to find herself

My ex and I were in a 4.5 year relationship before he ended it about 7 months ago now. His mom and I, while I was with her son, didn't have the best relationship due to external factors like my family's stance on the union and other things since it was an interracial relationship. After the split, she became kind towards me and helped me emotionally/mentally as a mother figure, basically treating me drastically differently than before. She even told me the day after the breakup that she believes her son needs to mature during this time to be ready for marriage with me since we were planning on getting engaged this upcoming year. That obviously should've been kept to herself since I was in a vulnerable place and assumed that he told her that, which led to delayed healing.

Since then, I have met up with my ex's parents a couple of times just because they wanted to see me, and they have treated me with tremendous respect and kindness. They invited me to their home to help paint furniture, and during that time, the mom kept referring to me as daughter-in-law even though my ex and I hadn't spoken to each other in months. We also talked about my healing during that time, and she supported my journey. Her son's birthday was in October, and she asked if I wished him a happy birthday. I said no since he told me that he wasn't comfortable with me communicating with him at the beginning of the breakup. My birthday was in December, and she didn't wish me a happy birthday, but today, she wished me a happy holiday season and asked if I was dating anyone. I didn't respond to her question and was taken aback by it since there was no reason for her to ask that. I have removed him and that whole family from my social medias, so maybe that's part of the reason why? Do you think my ex is asking her to find out on his behalf? Why wouldn't he just message me to find out?