He Asked for Exclusive, Then Went Quiet About His Ex

Notice the order. He brought up exclusivity on his own, which tells you he's already decided he's interested in you. The ex question wasn't a rejection of that. It was a separate thing he wasn't ready to talk about, probably because he didn't expect it so soon after agreeing to be exclusive.

Pay attention to what the discomfort looks like in practice. Someone who's emotionally tangled up with an ex often over-explains, gets defensive, or switches topics fast. Someone who is just tired of talking about it usually gives a short, flat answer and moves on. Your situation is closer to the second, with one gap: he didn't follow up later. That gap is worth noticing, but one unanswered question isn't a verdict yet.

Your reply needs to make it easy for him to come back to the topic without feeling cornered. Start by naming what happened, so he knows you heard the non-answer and didn't just forget it. Something like acknowledging that the ex thing seemed to hit a nerve works better than pretending the question was casual.

Then separate the two things you actually want to know. Do you need to know whether he's emotionally over her, or do you need to know whether the breakup is going to keep showing up in how he treats you? Those lead to different asks. The first is hard to get from one text. The second you can ask about directly: how he's doing with the breakup, or whether there's anything from that situation you should understand before it affects you. Keep the question open enough that he can answer in one sentence if that's all he's got.

Finally, say what you're offering in return. Saying you're not trying to pry, and that you'd rather he tell you when he's ready than fake an answer, gives him permission to be honest about needing time.

Send your reply in the daytime, when you're not up late and not in the middle of a feeling. A message sent at 2am reads as more intense than you meant it, even when it's gentle. Give him a reasonable window before you decide anything about the silence. A day or two is normal for someone who gets busy or doesn't like heavy texts. A week of nothing after a clear question is a different signal.

If he answers and gives you something real, even if it's brief, that's a good sign, and you can follow up gently at a later point. If he deflects again with a joke or a change of subject, you can say once that you'd like to know at some point, then let it be. Keep the exclusivity you agreed to going normally. If he's still avoiding the topic after a couple of weeks and things between you feel like they're carrying a weight you can't see, that's when it's fair to have a direct conversation about whether this is working for you.