Kristen Stewart – you didn’t just break Robert Pattinson’s heart when you cheated on him, you also let down millions of young women who admired you and aspired to have as loving and equal a relationship as the one we believed you had with Rob.

Kristen Stewart – you may not have set out to be a role model when you signed on to play Bella Swan in the five Twilight saga movies. But you sure became one, as women of all ages grew to admire you big time as they watched you grow up both on and off the screen.

Kristen- you appeared to have so much in common with awkward, insecure Bella who was a devoted, loving and loyal daughter, friend, girlfriend and then wife.

Like Bella, you didn’t appear to care in the least for expensive clothes, cars, homes or vacations – the kinds of superficial things that seem to play a huge role in the lives of most female celebrities – and real women liked that.

They loved that you appeared to stay as down-to-earth as ever,taking to the streets in LA, London or Vancouver, British Columbia in your signature Converse sneakers, skinny jeans, a sloppy T-shirt, and one of Rob‘s favorite baseball caps.

Women were thrilled that you didn’t go all Hollywood. No one ever saw you shopping for $6000 Hermes purses, getting manis or pedis, and you never spouted off about some crazy diet you were on.

No, instead like any “normal” 22-year-old, your life revolved around your work, your boyfriend and your family.

For young women focused on growing their own careers, you were an inspiration. You devoted yourself to working hard and taking on tough assignments, just like they were doing in their own fields.

In between shooting the five Twilight films, you got busy filming, The Runaways, Welcome to the Rileys, and On the Road. Then as soon as Breaking Dawn Parts I and 2 were done, you were off to shoot Snow White and the Huntsman.

Young women were proud of you because even though you had an amazing boyfriend, you didn’t let your love life get in the way of your career. You didn’t put Rob ahead of your work. No, you were an independent young woman who had your priorities in proper order. Your career could not be derailed by a demanding boyfriend who insisted that your career needed to take a backseat to his.

But that’s the thing – Rob wasn’t a self-centered demanding boyfriend at all. No, he was as respectful of your career as you were to his. He supported you every step of the way, and the two of you worked hard to not let long distance destroy your relationship.

When Rob was shooting Cosmopolis in Toronto, you jetted in and stayed with him all night on set, just so you two could be together.

When you filmed Snow White, he flew to the set in England. When Rob had his NYC premier for Remember Me, you made a surprise appearance on the red carpet to support him, and then you flew in again from California to attend his Water for Elephants premiere in NYC.

Then, there were the adorable and again super low-key dates that you and Rob went on. No one, and I repeat that again – no one would have believed that you were each worth $25, $30 and then $50 million dollars each because you lived like two money-crunched college students, dressed most of the time in vintage clothes.

You spent New Year’s Eve at a local pub on the Isle of Wight two years in a row, you were just as likely to eat in little local restaurants as LA or London’s trendy SoHo House and when you wanted to surprise Rob with a Christmas present you shopped at his favorite guitar shop – Norman’s Rare Guitar Shop, in Tarzana, California. You even took your dad, John Stewart, to help you pick out the gift.

Kristen – it was such a normal-seeming, happy life that you had on your own and with Rob, or so it seemed.

Like Bella and Edward, you two appeared to focus on real values, not surfacey Hollywood B.S.

Rob, sources told HollywoodLife.com repeatedly, was devoted to you. And even though as a couple you were intensely private, words and photos slipped out. We loved the photo of you two making out at a party in Cannes, it was delicious when you Kristen finally admitted in an interview in the November 2011 issue of British GQ that you had a British boyfriend, and then we all were thrilled to bits when we heard you whisper, “I love you” to Rob, during a press conference at the recent Comic-Con.

For millions of young women, it was awesome to have a woman they could totally relate to who so successful in both her professional and personal life.

You were certainly pretty, but you were no modelesque glamazon. You cleaned up really good for the red carpet and photo shoots but most of the time you were kind of casually thrown together like the rest of us.

But most of all, for so many young women, who can’t find a nice guy, the two of you showed young women that it was very possible to have a loving, committed and long-lasting romance, even when you were just in your twenties. Kristen, you were 22 and Rob, just 26, when it all came crashing down.

And boy did it come crashing down, last Wednesday, July 25th, when Us Weekly revealed their cover story and photos of your cheating with Snow White director, Rupert Sanders.

Millions of your fans didn’t want to believe it. They refused to accept that the photos of you in full PDA mode with Rupert Sanders were real. They hoped beyond hope that they had been photoshopped.

Only when you issued your apology later that day, did the truth sink into many of your fans.

You were not the woman of principle and substance they had believed in. You were not the relationship role model that they had wanted to emulate. You couldn’t be a personal role model either – you had been having an affair with a married man. You could have destroyed a family with two small children.

You broke Rob’s heart, and just as hurtful as that – you had publicly embarrassed and humiliated him.

Nevertheless, I’m sure you’re not a bad person. You’re simply young and you made a mistake. A big mistake. But people, especially young women, do make mistakes. And they learn from them.

However, right now that’s a small consolation to the millions of female fans who feel let down and rudderless. You were a big part of their lives for four years ever since Twilight first hit the big screen.

It’s not like there are many other inspiring young Hollywood couples to turn to for the same kind of romantic role model inspiration. Only Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez seem equally devoted but they are so young, it’s hard to believe they have the same chance of longevity as you and Rob once did.

So Kristen – as you reflect on what you did and try to understand why you did it, don’t forget that you aren’t the only one picking up the pieces. How you handle yourself in the coming days, weeks and months will also influence the young women who looked up to you.

I think at some point, being honest about having made a big mistake, will be a good move for you.

Your fans I believe are willing to hear you out and willing to have some empathy.

But you need to try and understand what a giant, special place you had in their lives, and how they are in recovery mode now too.

Bonnie Fuller

More Kristen Stewart

1. Robert Pattinson Needs To Talk With Kristen Stewart To Get Over Breakup, Says Expert
2. Robert Pattinson: Don’t Let Kristen Stewart’s Affair Ruin ‘Twilight’ For You
3. Kristen Stewart Knew Robert Pattinson Wouldn’t Tolerate Cheating