I was angry at my father, for a very, very long time. But I eventually realised he was doing the best he could with what he had. He drank a lot and I think he was pretty miserable overall, and while it doesn't excuse anything, I feel pretty sorry for him now. He wasn't the best father, and yes he hurt my mother very badly, but if I could go back in time, I'd be nicer to him.

I think the whole experience has made me more open minded. I don't see things as really black and white anymore. Cheating is not something I'd do personally, because I've seen first hand how hard it was on my mother, and I'm still an idealist, but I've had several friends confide in me after they cheated, and although I disapproved, I often found myself understanding their point of view. That open-mindedness has its limits, however. One of my co-workers would cheat on his girlfriend from morning to night and brag about it, and I found him utterly despicable because he was such a terrible person in general. I also know plenty of men who are faithful and committed to their wife/girlfriend, so I can't generalize and say 'all men cheat', because that's simply not true.

What I do find surprising is I've never been particularly scared of boyfriends cheating on me. Maybe my exes were unfaithful and I just never found out. If my boyfriend cheated, I'd probably be devastated, but it's just not something I worry about a lot, thankfully.

Hope that helps.