I think we selectively end up like our parents. We actively take on some of their positive traits and actively avoid some of their negative traits. We also accidentally acquire some neutral, but potentially annoying, traits that we’d probably rather not.
For instance, I took my parents’ politics and rejected their religion. I took my mom’s overzealous attention to detail and rejected most of her overbearing nature (hopefully). I took my dad’s late 60s mindset and rejected his timidity.
When I adopt my babygirl, I plan to take on the same educational policy my parents had with me (expensive private education, emphasis on the importance of education, and many learning resources at home) and reject the overly strict social rules that my parents had imposed on me (which I still believe were so over-the-top that they played a serious role in causing me issues later in life).
Finally, I have certainly accidentally acquired some of my mom’s really goofy qualities. I only allow them to come out in the privacy of my home, so only my boyfriend gets to see me act like a total nutcase. I get super excited about absolutely nothing, squeal, jump and run around like an idiot, make up words, and speak nonsense. This ridiculousness was accidentally acquired from my mom, haha.
Regarding the other questions, I don’t think my adult relationships have been very much like those of my parents. Yes, I like my parents, and I actively try to emulate some qualities while avoiding some others. The last question, Would you avoid entering into a serious relationship with someone whose parents had a poor relationship?, is SUPER hard. I really love how it is right now—both my parents and Jim’s parents are still married and still in love. We can all get together and get along wonderfully, and it’s just so easy this way. So, I do prefer to date people whose parents have a good relationship, but I don’t think having divorced parents would be a dealbreaker for me.