Former lover two boys lavishly praised (7)

I believe the answer is:

exalted

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

'lavishly praised' is the definition.
'exalted' can be an answer for 'praised' (exalting is a kind of praising). I am not certain of the 'lavishly' bit.

'former lover two boys' is the wordplay.
'two boys' means two replacements for 'boy'.
'former lover' becomes 'ex'.
'boy' becomes 'al'.
'boy' becomes 'ted' (I've seen this before).
'ex'+'al'+'ted'='EXALTED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for exalted that I've seen before include "Rasied high, glorified" , "Lifted in praise" , "August" , "Raised or praised highly" , "Elevated in nature or style" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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