Well divorce rates surged here when it was passed here but I still think because it takes a while to get divorced here people consider it a lot more.

I meant (apologies if that wasn’t clear) that before the relationship, and for the first half of the relationship I was happy. Then after I left I was happy again. I was single for a chunk in between and enjoyed having a little more freedom. Honestly I felt very claustrophobic, because as I said I was very young when we had the child, and we did try to work on it but ultimately I had changed a lot between the ages of 19 and 25 and didn’t have a proper sense of myself. There was a big enough age difference too which I think meant he was in a place I wasn’t ready for, if you get me?
Honestly we might as well have been married but I’m a decent self sufficient person and just walked away from any assets so my kid definitely had one stable home and we split our time with him 50/50.
I kinda think that’s the way relationships are going. Lots of people will stay together though. But then there’s lots of short term situations too. I personally wouldn’t have a kid with someone that I was unsure of their character. Polyamory is a massive thing now and not something I’m into but not something that I’d judge. It’s just a different shape to what we’re used to and still had the potential for long meaningful connections.

Marriage shouldn’t be as easy as ordering a cheeseburger and divorce seems that way too in the US (Ireland is technically western culture btw) and maybe that’s why it seems be taken quite lightly. But if it’s not working because people change or because they won’t grow I think it’s fair to leave on good terms.