3 Quotes by Ana Nogales

The child identifies with the parent who has been betrayed because he is suffering immeasurable loss as well – the loss of trust in one or both parents, the loss of both parents’ ability to be an attentive parent, the loss of faith in the cohesiveness of the family, and, of course, a loss of innocence.

Most children still want and expect their parents to be a faithful couple. Children are more likely to thrive when their parents are stable and focused on the family rather than on an outside romantic relationship.

When children of any age learn of a parent’s infidelity, they usually find it extremely difficult – if not impossible – to trust that someone they love will not lie to them, reject or abandon them, or otherwise cause them pain somewhere down the road. They very often learn not to put their faith in love, and they may also learn that they are not worthy of receiving monogamous love, because according to the evidence, their betrayed parent clearly wasn’t.