I am ashamed to say I took the advice given to the OP when it was given to me. My then girlfriend (now the one that got away) was a kindergarten teacher, and I was studying to be an art teacher. I cheated on her, and foolishly ended up leaving her. The girl I left her for came out to me as a lesbian a couple weeks later, ending that brief affair. Without my ex's support and encouragement, I dropped out of college in the following semester. I don't even draw or paint anymore because of this failing, as doing so brings back too many memories, and what few pieces I've started since then remain unfinished, collecting dust and damage. Now I work at the arcade I worked at in high school, pretending this doesn't weigh as heavily on my conscience as it does. I've tried to move on, I really have, but I simply can't find find someone I can relate to on anywhere near the level I could with my ex.

Go ahead and call me a whiner, or childish, or forever alone if you like. I've been hit with enough slings and arrows over this not to care, but fellow redditors, take it from me, don't cheat, especially if there's the slightest chance your SO might be "the one." That poor choice can truly break you.

Edit: tl;dr: I took the advice given to the OP, and wrecked my life.