Need advice from Leo man?

Hi, this is my first time posting though i've been reading posts for weeks now. My leo boyfriend and I dated 13 years ago but due to MY immaturity and shallowness at that time I broke up with him (I am scorpio). Last year we got back in touch again through wonderful FB and rekindled a connection and a month ago he asked me to be his girlfriend. I'm in the process of a divorce and his situation is that his kids live with his ex and right now he works in a different state but comes down every 3 weeks or so to visit.
Ok, so he does stay with his ex (his kids are young) but I trust him when he says there's nothing there as she cheated on him and she now also has a boyfriend but I live an hour away from his ex. So when he comes to visit now he has to divide his time between me and his kids...which is fine - I do understand that. BUT, his ex still has quite a hold on him via their children and she makes him feel guilty when he chooses to come see me for a day or two instead of being her live in babysitter when he's down.
I've come to really fall for him again even though we have a long distance relationship for the time being but our text messages and phone calls are so loving and mushy and he's so amazing. This is the first time since we started dating seriously again that he's been down and his ex has him stressed out and he's snapping at me. I'm a scorpio and I take emotions very seriously, especially when they are MINE that are getting hurt. I understand he's stressing and I want to be there for him without adding pressure to him to spend time with me. At this point, he's not even returning my text messages so i've stopped texting him. He doesn't call me any of the lovey nicknames he always does, he doesn't send a good morning OR good night text like he usually does and he's REALLY distant.
I hope this makes sense?
Anyways, I just want to know from any Leo guys out there - if in this situation, what is the best way I can be there for him? Of course I want to see him but I don't want to put more pressure on him so should I back off and let him come to me even though I know we're running out of time for him and I to see each other before he goes back to work or do I continue to send him messages letting him know I am thinking about him and miss him (or will that just add more pressure and guilt)? I don't know what to do. How can I be there for him but not overbearing?

i'm not a man...last time i checked and i'm not a leo either but as a fellow scorp, the best way you can be there for this man is to not be there at all. his life is a bit fucked up right now and if you allow it, things will continue in this vain until you're spirit has been completely crushed. eventually, you will represent nothing more than a guilty pleasure to him because the guilt associated with kids when you're not the parent with custody is HUGE. his ex knows it too and it's a battle you can't win because of the circumstances behind him staying in her home when he visits.

my ex husband lives in a different country and yet when he comes to visit the kids, he'll stay with a friend who lives an hour's drive away. he's a totally devoted father but it just wouldn't be appropriate for us to stay in the same house when we're no longer married. it would confuse the fuck out of our kids too.

he has to deal with that shit before you consider going anywhere with your relationship.

i am always deeply suspicious of ex's staying together when there are kids involved purely because they are creating the impression there's a chance of reconciliation to those young minds.......so perhaps there is.

the fact she cheated has absolutely no bearing on this either. my very good leo friend has been married for over 20 years and has 5 kids with his wife. loves the bones of her. about 2 years ago, she cheated on him with his best friend...in the marital bed no less.

they split...he found someone new and fell fast and hard for her only for his ex wife to reappear asking for reconciliation. he didn't hesitate and they got back together. leo loyalties take a very long time to die and they are uber responsible parents....seriously brilliant parents in fact cos i know loads of both sexes.

thanks for your reply 🙂
do you think i should just back away then and hold out for when he moves back (which will be in August) and he plans on living in my state (so he's said).
i guess the hardest time i'm having is the black and white personalities i'm seeing. When he's away working we txt all day long and he says things so lovingly my ex husband didn't even say stuff like that. I REALLY like this guy and want to make things work.
A friend of mine says to just sit back and watch how he handles the pull from the ex and then i'll know. We do have plans to meet with all the kids on Tuesday and then he's supposed to be coming home with me until Wed night which is not very long but at this point i'll take any time I can with him.
I just wonder if I should bring up any concerns with him while we're together or wait until he's back working and doesn't have his X constantly at him. The thing is, everything i've read about Leo's is to be up front with them without hurting their pride or being confrontational. Something I learned in marriage counselling (once upon a time) is to use "I" statements and I wonder if this would work with him? For example "I feel hurt (lonely, abandoned, sad) when we are trying to spend time together and your attention is more on texting your ex than it is on me because we don't get that much time together as it is." Or is that just my needy scorpio coming out? But really I don't feel NEEDY I just miss him so much and it's so hard knowing he's just an hour away instead of 12 hrs away.
He believes in everything happening for a reason. He said to me that he believes that I came back into his life for a reason and he feels we are very compatible and knows that we have a great future ahead and he looks forward to what it brings... I mean who says that? Am I falling for the BS line (lion)?

missy....stop making it all about him. make it all about you. you're second guessing him on everything which is pointless. what's the hurry? one thing i do know about leos is that if they want you, they'll get you in the end but sometimes, it takes too long for them to make the mind up so you can't afford to hang around to see what their next move will be.

no matter how much you like him, try and switch off to him. the timing's bad that's all and if he's missing you, he'll realise it sooner rather than later.

in the meantime, self-preservation is all that matters. your friend gave you good advice.

I'm about to start charging yall. 🙂 So he says the things your ex never says huh? That's because you told him what your ex never said. He can't get lost, you gave him a road map. You want to know what's going on with the ex huh? Call him at 2 in the morning. If you are scared to call, that speaks volumes about the situation doesn't it? That will tell you all you need to know. If you want a physical relationship only, then by all means GO HEAD ! I don't know why he hasn't gotten his own apartment. I'm going to guess it's probably cheaper to keeper her. He is showing you his true colors right now. Its up to you whether or not you want to look.

A tiger doesn't change his stripes.

I'm not a man either but I am a Leo.

Every response here.. + 1!

And despite the not so lovely circumstances - nice to have you here, Missy 🙂

Thanks everyone for the replies. We spoke briefly today and it seems the overreaction is simply on my part - but being a scorpio, i don't know how to shut that off.... we still have plans and he still wants me to meet his kids this week. That's a pretty huge step in itself. I think I just need to refocus like y'all said on myself again and he'll come to me when he's ready. We also have plans for June and I asked if he still wanted to go to the concert and he said "of course."
It's really hard though to pull back, although being a scorpio has its perks - sometimes being quick to jump from one emotion to another is annoying; something I have to work on.
I'd still welcome any more advice or input from any Leo's out there who can provide me some insight into how Leo's work. I want to make him happy, but I want to be happy too -- need to find a good balance! 🙂