Gee... Never thought about "envy"...
Last three years of corporate employment were somewhat apart from the office routine. spent most of the time on the road, closing down 2400 retail units across the country... 1981-1985, and coincidentally working myself out of my job. Then off on my own using pension monies to start my own business. While growing the business and taking on some risk to expand... hit with cancer, and the worry of leaving DW with a mountain of debt.
Decision time... at age 53, in 1989, with limited assets and expertise in a dying profession, took the big step to a "trial" retirement... selling business at a break even.
The good part... all four sons grown, educated, and on their way... a home almost free and clear... DW fully supportive and willing to take on the challenge of retirement. After my leaving the corporate position in Chicago, the company closed down completely in 1990 and I lost track of co-workers.
....................................................................................
So back to "envy". I don't guess that there were many who were there to envy me, and to put a point on the subject... not very many who would have changed places.
Opposite to many others here, who were able to continue earning and building a safety net, our efforts went into learning to live "frugally". Strangely... looking back... it doesn't seem that we ever sacrificed anything important. Plenty of time to study and understand money preservation, as opposed to growth.
1989 was a decision point. Go back to being employed, or take a chance. Always in the background the comfort of relatively young age (53) and the idea that we could go back if it didn't work out. That was 28 years ago. No life is perfect... small bumps along the way, but nothing but good memories.
Did I ever envy early retirees? Never thought about it.
Does anyone envy me? Not particularly. Naw... my two cars are collectively 40 years old... no foreign travel, no special dining experiences, an aging wardrobe, no theatre experiences, no new computers or smartphones. Just friends who are mostly older than us, CCRC cookouts or singalongs, walking the local mall, and more TV than we should.
A mostly quiet, no crisis, low level adventurous life. Happy to be alive with relatively good health with total freedom, and no cares about money. "Envy" not a part of our vocabulary.