How long between exposure and to herpes and initial attack?

Most of the time, a woman's initial outbreak will be much worse than a man's. It is probably possible that you caught it from your ex, but it is highly unlikely. It took me about two weeks to have an outbreak after I caught it and it was extremely painful. Not to mention that I got incredibly sick and originally thought I had the flu. Chances are high that you got it from your current boyfriend. He just may not have had a very severe initial attack. Sometimes in men it just shows up as little bumps, so sometimes it takes men awhile to realize they have it. Or maybe he was just embarrassed to tell you that he already knew.