What is the importance of Sheila's lovers in the play, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg?

Though Sheila's former lovers are never in the play, her premarital promiscuity is evoked by Bri. As he feels sexually neglected, he tries to goad her by comparing her former wantonness with her current coldness. He accuses Sheila of rejecting him because she is having an affair with Freddie, her co-performer in a community theater troupe. In Act Two, he admits he knows his accusations are false. He hoped his perceived jealousy would reawaken his wife's passion.