Does the way you were raised affect how you act when you're an adult?

Nick and Amy were raised very differently, they were raised in different home environments, family environments and even siblings can have affect on this.

They are very different people, have very different interests and personalities.

Amy pretended to be the "cool girl" because everyone loves the cool girl and she wanted Nick to like her when they first met.

Nick had an affair with a girl who was raised
more like him and they didn't argue or see things
very differently.

Andie is a small town girl who goes to college
in a small town and worked for everything like Nick.

Amy's childhood.

Marybeth and Rand Elliot wrote the Amazing Amy series
and with them writing a series about a perfect daughter it set
high expectations for Amy.

Amy felt she had to be perfect all the time so she wouldn't
disappoint her parents for not being like Amazing Amy.

She felt her parents wanted her to be perfect like Amy in the Amazing Amy series. If people saw imperfections in her she would manipulate them to make sure they don't speak of it and make it look like it was their fault.

Amy grew up in New York City, with her parents writing the series they were a wealthy family. Amy had a trust fund and never had to worry about money.

Her parents even borrowed money from
her trust fund at one point.

Amy is a very manipulative person, she will do anything to make herself look good and other people look bad.

Desi Collings, Tommy O'Hara and Hillary Handy were all friends of Amy at some point and have been manipulated by her.

Now Nick Dunne as well.

Went to a private school.

was described to be the girl
everyone wanted to be.

Nick's childhood.

Nick's parents, Maureen and Bill Dunne, didn't have a great
relationship.

They fought a lot, didn't get along
and eventually got divorced.

Nick was the first born with a surprise twin Go, he is a favourite. He is also described as a mama's boy.

Nick's family was not a wealthy family, they didn't live in a big nice house. In the novel Nick mentioned that his mom got a job at the local mall.

Nick had to work for everything in his life.
he got a job a young teen and worked his entire life.

Didn't go to a private
school.

How this affected their marriage

With being raised differently they view
things very differently.

When they were moving to Carthage Amy was upset
because she didn't know what a small town was. She
had lived in New York her whole life.

Amy was used to getting
everything handed to her
and didn't have to work for very
much.

she gave Nick the money to open The Bar. Nick worked
at a college teaching and at The Bar with his sister. Amy didn't work.

Amy is so used to having to be perfect she
had to pretend to be someone she wasn't for Nick.

When she found out Nick was cheating she planned
her own murder for a year to get revenge so people wouldn't know she wasn't perfect.