What would you advise younger women (maybe your much younger self?) about relationships from your own experience and knowledge of the world?
Do not have children with a man who will not marry you.
Set up a pension / savings especially if you're not working - total dependence on a man who may leave / cheat / squander / die is a very vulnerable position.
Have the conversations about who does what BEFORE you get in to deep and start having children. You don't want to discover when it's too late that you're expected to do all the childcare and housekeeping, maybe as well as working.
Trust your gut. Spidey senses, instinct, sixth sense, whatever you call it - if you're noticing the tiniest changes in the way the OH looks, sounds, talks, behaves, dresses etc etc etc - pay attention and consider what your very real human senses are telling you.
Leave married men alone, especially if there are children. It may be exciting and flattering but lives can be ruined by infidelity.
Older men who get into relationships with much younger women, especially those under 25, maybe looking for someone they can manipulate and control.
Learn the terms - and recognise if they apply to you:
Nurse with a purse - is he looking for an unpaid housekeeper, nanny, cook, cleaner and additional source of income?
DARVO - deny, attack, reversing victim and offender - does he play the blame game, now look what you made me do?
Coercive control - does he use psychological manipulation to bend you to his will?
Flying monkeys - does he manipulate others into doing his dirty work for him?
FOG - fear, obligation and guilt - eg does he turn into a wet blanket whenever his mother interferes?
Believe him when he shows you who and what he is - not when he tells you.
Masks can be worn for a long time before they slip, but what you find beneath is the truth.
Don't settle for fear of being single and lonely. Taking the brave step of leaving can be your first step to a better life.
But be aware that the moment, the act of leaving can be your most vulnerable time. Be prepared with advice, networks, support, etc.
If you haven't already found him, the good, kind, decent, gentle, strong, loving, empathic, likeable, lovable good guys are out there - and you're worth it.
What would you add? Challenge? What has your life experience taught you that you'd like to pass on?