I've never seen such opening and all-encompassing honesty in a person online before and it's making for inspirational, intelligent and brilliant reading.

I've had a somewhat opposite situation to you in that I once started going out with a girl who basically went out with me "on the rebound" from an abusive boyfriend, who then dumped me after two weeks because her ex had begged her for "one more chance". Gotta say that did wonders for my ego, to be dumped in favour of Mr Slappy.
I should say that nine years on, said ex-girlfriend is now happily married to someone else entirely with kids.