TheStudent,<P>According to what I have read, children are generally much better off with a single parent than with a stepparent as well. About the only exception is when the stepparent comes into their life when they are very young. Adolescents find it particularly difficult adjusting to a stepparent. And then you have to worry about the relatively high risk of sexual abuse, especially of adolescent girls. <P>Not only would I have to worry about these factors, but with the knowledge that I know have that a new personality came emerge overnight 25 years later, I can not imagine ever feeling anything but terribly tense in a relationship. You can be as open and honest as possible, but it is likely that the other person is not going to be, and there usually is no way to tell.