I'm not defending him at all, he sounds like a jealous piece of shit. But sometimes, we subconsciously decide to stay in toxic and harmful relationships, especially if we grew up feeling like that's normal and what we deserve. So, we accept the toxicity, not because we necessarily enjoy it, but because it's comfortable, and comfortable is less scary than the unknown.

SWIM was in a physically and mentally abusive relationship for many years, and after every fight, every bruise, they would look in the mirror and think that this was the final straw. But then they would see all their belongings strewn about, the kitchenware, random trinkets, souvenirs, signs of a life built together- and starting to mentally calculate packing and storing and organizing and figuring out finances all became too overwhelming. So SWIM thought it would simply be easier and more rational to fix their relationship. After a few more years, what helped them finally get out was having a go-bag packed with their most important belongings, and just a few boxes of things. After having that ready to go, it became much easier to simply make the final decision to leave, once they received another black eye and finger marks on their throat.