I guess age gap played a factor, or at least the differences in life phase with the general issues with incompatible personalities.

One of my exes kept pushing certain ideals onto me. She's the sort of woman who'd tell her friends 'if you can't find a good man, raise one'. She is a very idealistic person, and has always tried to 'convert' me to her beliefs. From the get go she had an idealised image of the relationship and me that she had always strived to realise. Back when I was younger, when I had just gone estranged from my parents, I didn't really question this sort of dynamic at all. My parents were even more controlling so she was in comparison seemed more liberal. But as I grew older it dawned on me that I allowed her too much control over my life.

I didn't 'come back' per se, I've always dated older. But I am now more wary of older women with underlying issues like that ex. A lot of cubs romanticise milfs and think they're the panacea to all their problems, but older women are people too. And people have flaws.