Welcome to the Board. I'm glad you found us.
Other members will be by to greet you and provide you feedback, but I'd like to offer a few of my own thoughts, too.
I was 39 when I met 'Pixie'. I was 2-weeks into my 3rd separation from my (now) ex-wife. I was at a bar that was fairly far from my house, a 30 minute drive perhaps, when she walked in. At that time she was 22. We talked quite a bit that night and it was instant attraction for both of us. In fact, she was in the bar with a gentleman that she was seeing when we were locking-lips in the back of the building. She explained to me that she was in rehab for heroin and benzos, but I didn't care. I was a middle age man in the middle of a divorce, and I figured finding something like this was what I was supposed to be doing at this point.
Where to start...all I can assume is in the moment, you were in a vulnerable state emotionally, and I can relate and empathize with that. Perhaps your ego got a boost from the fact a much younger girl found you attractive?
Of course, when you're vulnerable in the way you were, you don't necessarily make the best decisions. And it was those decisions that led you to us.
Personal growth does not come without pain. My hope is while you're with us, you not only learn about how to cope with a loved one's addiction, but you reflect and understand why you made the choices you did.
Again, Welcome to the Board.