My best friend in the world has a very dramatic (and beautiful) mother who takes off on every whim (not saying that's your deal) and she has made a hash of everyone's life and stability. My girlfriend isn't scarred for life, but she has a healthy fear of marriage (from her mama's behaviour).
It's one thing to parade about when you are single, but trust me, I was dating a man recently who offered up a house and guess who won...pic is above...