Ah... got it.

Wow.

You might just be on to something there.

I use a lot of psychosexual imagery to describe their relationship, but that's just because it's both convenient and, to conservatives, demeaning (and to non-conservatives, amusingly ironic). But even though it consistently conjures up very accurate imagery, I hadn't really considered the likelihood that that's because there really is something to it.

He said “they’ll get mad at me”.

Oog. I missed that bit.

And yes - it sounds exactly like what someone would say to an abusive ex with whom they want to get back together.

That's just plain creepy.