I will say as a Crisnyrent (or C.R.A if you prefer) fan that often posts about Criston as a reaction to the fandom's gross caricaturization of his character, there is a grave lack of understanding for Rhaenyra's character on all sides of the argument from a lot of people, be they going to bat for any of the three, and that's looking at Rhaenyra's behavior through the lens of her being a victim of grooming. I believe she genuinely loved both Alicent AND Criston, and that there was always a chance of reconciliation but for one fact: thanks to the patriarchal-feudal society she lives in - especially as a scion of the Incest House™ - she never sees herself as a victim of Daemon or the feelings she has as a result of it as wrong, unnatural, or insidious in any way. So what if it turns out that the only people who genuinely cared about her happiness are also beneath her and this ruins her relationships with them and conveniently isolates her further so that Daemon can pick up the pieces when she's good and vulnerable after Harwin has died (also discarded and forgotten immediately after his death btw)?
Alicent and Criston were loved as genuinely and deeply as possible by someone who was fundamentally damaged at an early age and beyond by an ongoing abuse that was not only invisible and normalized but even encouraged by the world in which she lives.
