Erhan Havaleoglu, 36, killed Leighanne Cameron, 29, by strangling and stabbing her in Mid Calder on 28 October 2015.
He must serve a minimum of 20 years before he can apply for parole.
Sentencing him at the High Court in Glasgow, Judge Johanna Johnston said he was guilty of a "cruel, merciless and extremely violent murder".
In August, a jury at the High Court in Paisley found him guilty of murdering Ms Cameron.
The court heard the attack happened after Havaleoglu discovered she was in a relationship with another man.
The judge told Havaleoglu: "Leighanne Cameron was much loved and had everything to live for."
She said Ms Cameron's injuries had been "catastrophic".
Havaleoglu attacked the mother-of-two shortly after she returned from work.
The killer had been spending the day looking after their children before he struck.
He then fled to Edinburgh and it is thought that on his way there he got rid of the murder weapon and the clothes he had been wearing.
Ms Cameron's body was discovered by her new boyfriend Philip Kilkenny.
Mr Kilkenny called police and revealed Havaleoglu had told Leighanne "she'd never get to love another man".
The court heard the "reality" of Ms Cameron's new relationship had come to "the full attention" of Havaleoglu shortly before the murder.
Ian Duguid, defending, said it came from a conversation the killer had with one of his young children.
The QC said this discovery was suggested to be "the catalyst" for the fatal attack.
Mr Duguid: "This is an event that pushed him beyond what his previous behaviour had been."
Havaleoglu had also been accused of assaulting three other women, but he was cleared of those charges at the trial.
Det Ch Insp Raymond Brown, of Police Scotland, said: "Leighanne's death has been absolutely devastating for her family and those close to her.
"Her five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son have been robbed of their loving mum in the most horrific of circumstances.
"Havaleoglu has callously refused to admit responsibility for Leighanne's murder ever since, despite extensive evidence against him."
He added: "Unfortunately, nothing can undo his actions that day but hopefully the outcome at court provides some form of comfort and closure to Leighanne's family and friends."

England beat France 2-0 in a friendly at Wembley on Tuesday but do not play again until March.
Hodgson wants to spend time with the players to keep the team spirit intact, after a run of 13 wins from 16 games since the 2014 World Cup.
"I would like an afternoon or early evening with the players," he said.
"We can go through a little bit of what we have done in the Spain game and the France game and see what we want to do going forward.
"I am hoping that the clubs will go along with that. To be honest there wasn't an enormous amount of opposition to it last time around.
"I guess with any luck we will get that afternoon but it will have to be discussed with the clubs to make sure they think it is an afternoon that is right for them because I and (assistant) Ray Lewington are full-timers and can go any time it suits them."
England will build up to next summer's European Championship with March friendlies against world champions Germany in Berlin and Netherlands at Wembley.
With injured players coming back into contention next year, Hodgson will add up to another four friendlies in the build-up to the tournament in France, which starts in June.
"We are hoping to have at least three warm-up games, possibly four, in addition to the two in March so we will have games," Hodgson added.
A man has been given a life sentence for murdering his estranged wife at her West Lothian home while their two children slept upstairs.
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Boss Roy Hodgson wants to resurrect plans for a winter meeting for his England squad - an idea previously vetoed by Premier League clubs.