I totally understand! When I read it as a teen, I felt mature (well, OK, I was parentified), so an older guy falling in love with me sounded thrilling. Now as a 40-something, when I look back, I can see how that would not have been OK.

My husband and I talked recently about how some Christian churches describe the husband and wife relationship as equivalent to parent and child, similar to God the Father and God the Son. That model leads to paternalism and patronization in the relationship, depriving wives of agency, like children.