<human>: Hi r/relationships,

I've been struggling with this issue for a while. Two years ago I started dating a friend [25M]. We dated for six months and broke up a year and a half ago, though we've remained good friends. We have a large number of mutual friends, which probably helped - we couldn't avoid each other! 

There is a mutual friend who I am interested in [M28]. I approached my ex basically asking him if he would be OK with me approaching our mutual friend romantically, and he said it would make him very uncomfortable. I respected this and didn't say anything. It gets a little complicated because I made an /r4r post without my face that this mutual friend replied to. We actually flirted a bit before I realized who he was, I told him who I was to be honest, and we later had a conversation essentially saying that while there was mutual attraction it would hurt my ex if we tried anything. 

All of this is OK, though I have to admit slightly resenting my ex for setting these boundaries when we dated so briefly. At the same time, I value our friendship. 

However, I'm trying to move on. I'm dating someone new non-exclusively and while it's not true love, we have fun. Recently, *another* mutual friend and I have been having sparks and I want to see where it could go. I'm concerned about my ex however... I haven't talked to him about whether he'd be OK with me and this *other* mutual friend yet. 

I guess as I was thinking about all this, I became concerned that I am letting an ex dictate my dating life. Is this unhealthy? Or is this within the bounds of a normal friendship with someone you've dated in the past? I don't want to hurt my friend, but I don't want him using our past romance to control me either. I haven't stayed friends with many exes, let alone someone who is so enmeshed in my friend groups. Any advice on both the situation specifically and boundaries generally from someone who's lived it?

Can you give me a shortened version of the text?
<bot>: Ex and friend is limiting who in our mutual friend circle I should date. When does this cross the line from being a good friend to unhealthy?