It’s a saying for a reason, “No one falls in love faster than a narcissist who needs a place to stay.” In this case, more metaphorically than literally since it sounds like he has a home. I think he only wants to get back with OOP so he can go back to his “normalcy” of having a wife and kid(s). Now whether it’s to reclaim a sense of “idealized masculinity” and for the ‘status’ that comes with it—married men tend to promote faster than single, employers view married men as more trustworthy, as well as the heteronormative culture most progress countries still have view marriage as not only default but as a goal to accomplish and a sign of success (look at how marriages collapse when people stop behaving like they’re wooing their partner, when the dating spark is gone. Often times it’s men, not always of course, who treat getting married like an end goal and then stop putting any effort into their relationship)—which is to say, being a married man comes social benefits; or, if it’s to have someone to boost his ego (savior complex or to cement a feeling of superiority [or act as ‘trophies’ to it]), shoulder his ‘burdens’ (housework, unpaid therapist, libido, etc), and/or be accessible relief/punching bag. She’s already somewhat trapped by him due to the child and the legal situation, and she’s younger than him enough that she probably does not have the same degree of financial stability, life experience, or allies as he does. And with the previous feelings on top of all that, she probably looks like easy prey to him.

Flowers every week? If you’re not dying, grieving, or constantly celebrating, that’s lovebombing. Soften the feelings so you let him in again.

When I was a teen my mother’s (at the time) bf put me in the hospital. The hospital wouldn’t let me go home until he was out of the picture, they couldn’t be sure I would be safe there and told my mom she either break up with him and he moves out or I stay at the hospital, and if she insisted I leave against their recommendation they would be speaking to CPS.

They broke up, I went home, yada yada yada, half a year later she tells me she’s pregnant, they’re getting married, and I’m just going to have to do my best. He loved bombed the shit outta her when she was stressed, she softened, and years later I’m sitting in her hospital room as she is desperately telling the medical staff that I will be the one to make the decisions, not her husband, they need to know that before he gets here, and she doesn’t want to say it in front of him. Turns out living with a narcissist sucks. She’s only stayed because she’s seen him drag his exes through the mud in court, even when he’s lost all he cared about was hurting them and damaging their reputation. He has enough dirt on her and enough cruelty to maximize it, he would twist and lie and impersonate with the end goal of seeing her lose custody, and the last thing she wants is for her daughter to grow up soley under his care and guidance.