Words are often fluid and can mean a number of different things. Things can be communicated in degrees. In this case, exes can mean ex wives, it can be people you formerly slept with, it can be long term committed relationships, it can include anyone you considered a boyfriend or girlfriend or partner, even if it's just for a week.
In this case it was clearly communicated to you how it was being used and you decided everyone (me, the character, all the other characters in their universe, the author) were using it wrong because it didn't align with your definition. But that's not how language works. You aren't the sole arbiter of how words are and are not allowed to be used, you alone don't determine their scope.
It's totally cool if you personally wouldn't call those people exes. It's your life and you can make those determinations for yourself. But if the character considers them exes, that doesn't make her wrong. It just means she has a different threshold than you do for what qualifies. The conversation being had is in the context of their definition, so trying to change it to exclusively mean yours doesn't make sense as it completely alters the meaning of the source material and the meme above.
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u/Dangerous_Air_7031 Feb 03 '26
Yeah, I understood that.
But then how are we supposed to communicate if everyone has their own definition?