Crossword Genius

Ecstatic former partner stopped missing husband (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exalted

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'ecstatic' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'former partner stopped missing husband' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'former' could be 'ex' and 'ex' is found in the answer.
'partner' could be 'e' and 'e' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for exalted that I've seen before include "August" , "Elevated in rank" , "Raised or praised highly" , "High - rapturous" , "Elevated in nature or style" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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