[SteveLW]

But I didn't want to shut the door on an awesome person because statistics say "you need XXXX amount of time."

So this stuck out at me. First it isn't statistics. It is mental health. After the ringer you went through with your EX you needed time alone to mend and heal. To get past the traumas and hang ups. To not be suspicious when the new GF mentions a guy's name she is friends with thinking "Here we go again!" Etc.

But also the fact that you were afraid to shut the door on an awesome person. I guarantee you that if you had told this woman "sorry, I am not ready for an R right now", that in a year or two or whenever, when you were ready to date again, there would be other awesome people out there to meet. The fact that you think this woman is awesome in such a short amount of time has me wondering if you went from one over-attachment (your EX) to another (your GF). You've known her for what can be measured in weeks, and you are already talking like you are ready to marry her and have kids (or maybe in the reverse order!).

Again, your life. You get to decide. But it isn't XXXX statistics. It is about working through emotional baggage and setting yourself for your next MR to be a success.

If you had asked before you started talking to this woman on the phone "guys, do you think I should start dating someone, to the point where I call them my GF?" I think you know what the answer would be.

Maybe you will buck the odds and this will work out. But if you look up D statistics for 1st, 2nd and 3rd marriages, I think you'd be shocked at what you see. 2nd and 3rd marriages fail at even higher rate than 1st marriages. I think that is a telling statistic.