I can't be positive my ex was covert. What I can tell you is that:
*he had a BS degree under his belt
*a successful career
*in almost every way seemed to have his sh*t together
*He did all the housework (cooking, cleaning, yard care, car maintenance, literally everything) which ultimately made me unusually dependent on him
*He had a history of failed relationships (but so do I, so I didn't judge him for that).
Maybe he was simply controlling. He wanted to control basically every moment of my life. He made plans for "us". He isolated me from my friends and family. It was impossible to deal with him because if his feelings were hurt, the whole universe had to stop so that we could resolve them. He was jealous of anything that took my time from him - including school (he didn't want me to finish my master's degree), my dog whom he felt was too needy, my kids who he all but vanquished from my life, etc.
He wanted all of my time and all of my affection and would pout if he didn't have it. But it was very insidious and manipulative. It seemed as though he just REALLY loved me, so it hurt him to have me away from him.
Anyway, he didn't have any of the typical "poor me" traits, so I'm really not sure how to label him at this point. Or if it even matters if I do.