I think Regina really does love Henry, but she’s just not able to express it in a way that Henry would read as love-I mean look at her own mother. 😯
A couple of episodes ago (I’m not sure which one it was) when Regina gave Henry a video game to replace the loss of his book, he didn’t seem all that excited. When she asks what’s wrong, Henry says that he wants to see Emma again, and you can tell from the look on her face that she’s hurt. I think that Regina is mostly familiar with going through the motions of being a parent, taking him to school, feeding him when he’s hungry, checking his temperature when he’s sick, tucking him into bed when he’s sleepy, giving him presents, etc. As far as emotional love, I think Regina might be lacking in that department.
We know that she sent him to therapy because he thinks (or rather knows) that she’s an Evil Queen, but do we know if she ever asked him why he feels that way? Has she taken the time to try and understand his feelings, where he’s coming from? Did she send him off to therapy the moment she found out about this, or was she a mother at her wits end? If she did send him off to Archie the moment she found out, it might be the reason Henry says that Regina is only “pretending” to love him.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about their relationship to really judge.