Is it just me? (Fred's character)

What do you think about Fred's character? Over the movie some details came up about the way he treated his family - his devoted wife he never cherished, his daughter as his assistance but never being cared for truly, and Mick's line to Lena that the only ever romantic thing Fred said about his wife was after decades of marriage and to representative of the queen? His experimentations with sexuality, his appetite for lust and beautiful women, his depression from being old and not having slept with Brenda... Me personally, I was shocked to see his wife, not dead but life sucked out of her after giving everything to his husband who stood so cold next to her instead of being there for her for 10 years stating that despite the facts that speak of his egocentricity they remained together.. I am confused about his calculative character... Why does he spend his last years of retirement away from her and not taking her to a deserved vacation and shared time together? There was a line when he was taking a walk with Mick he said that all the things he ever did as a father was to play a role because he knew he had to be remembered one day as a father, and not out of love, is this his egocentricity and cold heart or his apathy and skepticism speaking?