Using Jealousy As A Weapon
She had seen it work in a sitcom before, so she purposely took a male friend to a party at which she knew her ex-boyfriend would be seen. Her friend was aware of her plan, so she figured there would be no harm done to him. She hung off of his shoulder in plain view and spoke loudly about how blissfully happy she was with her new love. Her attempt was brazen, and certainly immature, and yet she was all out of other ideas. Does this strategy truly work?
Even in the best case scenario, your ex might perceive that you are quite happy with your new special someone, and could take that opportunity to feel free to let you know how much he or she has moved on as well! One good reason not to use jealousy as a tactic is that it might give implicit permission to your ex to find somebody new, so your plan can backfire to result in the reverse of your intentions!
In the worst case scenario, whether your new relationship is real or phony, your ex may see your attempt for what it is and decide that it is another example of why he or she broke up with you in the first place! If your elaborate new love life is exposed as a sham, the idea that you lied to hurt may be a valid reason for your ex to never speak with you again. Even if your date is a true new potential, if you are preoccupied with getting the attention of your ex, your divided attention will be neither attractive nor flattering.
Weapons are for use in war, not love. Using jealousy as a weapon is a strategy designed to cause hurt, and nobody wants to spend time with somebody who hurts them! If your plan is based on hurting someone while tempting your ex with the thrill of the chase, what will happen when that chase is over and your ex loses interest yet again? There should be more of a basis for wanting to be with you besides wanting somebody else not to be with you!
So what happened in this particular true story with the woman's ex when he saw her with another man at a party? There were no dramatic cries for reunion, nor did he recognize her desperation for what it was. Rather, he simply did not care at all. She had set out to hurt, and she ended up turning the weapon on herself to cause even more regret in her already broken heart. Jealousy should never be used as a weapon for winning back the heart of an ex. Unless you want to cause damage, put all of your weapons down.