Just my opinion on this. She went to live with a loving father. She continued to see her mother weekly.This is clearly your neutral observation point as a fully grown adult though, it is not how a 4 year old felt and it’s not how Lauren recounts it. Lauren absolutely felt rejected, abandoned and unloved. Lauren was the one ‘given away’, not the siblings and she has really struggled to understand why it was her although she understands now her mum was unwell, she missed her siblings and it was probably really confusing. she’s very very clearly brought this through her life into making terrible relationship choices and doesn’t have a healthy understanding of what love really is, or means. This is not an ‘excuse’ it’s just a background as everyone asking why she is this way. Look at it from a child’s POV, it was traumatic and those events often influence us as adults. I don’t even believe Lauren is angry at her parents at all, she just seems to often come across as sad when she talks about it. Even in interviews she doesn’t say her mum didn’t love her, she acknowledged she was unwell I think she’s forgiven her mother but it’s had a lasting impact on LG’s self esteem and she is all over the place either severe dysmorphia, trying to trick people what she really looks like, having terrible surgery etc
She was only 4, I think, when this happened. Yes she will have been confused, yes she will have wanted to be with mummy, yes she will have wanted to be with sibling. I take it her younger sister is her 'step' sister? I can understand this but it can't keep being used as an excuse for certain behaviour.
My neighbour did a strange thing in my opinion when she 'run off' with her new chap leaving the kids with their dad. I never could understand how she could do this. She saw them regularly and had another baby with new chap not long after. The kids all grew up well looked after by their dad, who eventually remarried and their new mum adopted them as her own. Yes one child wasn't left behind whilst the others were taken, so not exactly the same. I asked this woman why she did it and she said her soon to be ex husband could give them a better life.... The eldest child has just qualified as a solicitor and others are at Uni.
My son was only 7 when his dear daddy died but he has very few memories. I think it made him grow up quicker but also be more self reliant. He's now a copper and I'm so proud. He can relate to people better because he's been through so much and is my carer since I broke my back. It's what you make of your situation that counts, not dwelling on 'whys' and 'what ifs'.... just my experience of this kind of thing.