Romantic jealousy is a set of emotions, thoughts and actions that emerge in a particular social situation (White & Mullen, 1992). It is best to distinguish it from envy, with which it is often conflated or mistaken. Strictly speaking, envy occurs in the setting of a dyadic relationship and refers to the feelings that are aroused by the characteristics or attributes of another person, whereas jealousy occurs in the setting of a triangular relationship and refers to the feelings triggered by the relationship or potential relationship between two other people within the triangle (Klein, 1977). It is also best to make clear at the outset that jealousy is not a basic emotion such as fear, anger or sadness. It is a complex emotion that is a composite of several different emotions triggered by a social situation. The feelings making up this composite include anger, fear, sadness, guilt, envy and sexual arousal. The social setting is usually the perceived potential or real loss of a sexual partner to an imaginary or real sexual rival.