Thank you all for your replies. You've given me a lot to think about. I didn't know about AS when I got married almost 17 years ago. All I can say is that it's been a rough ride for both of us. I had never been in any kind of intimate relationship prior to this one, and had worked 2nd shift for a decade, leaving her home alone night after night.
Later recognizing I was neglecting our relationship, I transferred to 1st shift so we would have the same schedule and have evenings together. That's when I discovered she had this whole other life I didn't know about, with people I didn't even know were in communication with her. I reacted badly when I realized she had male friends; guess I felt I'd been replaced or not needed or something, and when she seemed indifferent to my feelings about it, I more or less had a meltdown. This has happened a couple of times now, so I knew I needed help, because
I don't always know what is appropriate and what isn't, and I didn't know if intense jealousy was an aspie thing; it's just the worst feeling in the world.
The only other time I felt like this was when she admitted to me she was not a virgin when we got together. She'd actually been going steady with a guy for 6 years before me. I felt like I had my guts ripped out. It was like she'd cheated on me somehow. I basically fumed inside for a year about it. That was years ago, and I can handle it now, but
I wondered maybe that had something to do with it.
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We are not so different from potted plants in that, if given everything we need to be properly nourished, the outcome can be incredibly contrary to when we are not. A flower won't grow in flour, and neither can we.