[quote=briansd1]
Ordinary folks are afraid of separation/divorce because they will lose the house, etc…
[/quote]

I would agree with this – and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

My parents would have divorced if it hadn’t been for asset splitting. There were several points where they were virtually separated while living in the same house (separate rooms, etc.)

That said – they stayed together because of the finances… YET found a way to reconnect emotionally as well. I can honestly say that they loved each other and were happily married in their golden years. Some of the stress might have been just been career related… retirement upped their happiness, overall, significantly.

I’ve seen people go through divorce under the assumption that their unhappiness was because of the relationship. Only to find themselves still unhappy (and broke) when the divorce was over.

My take away from this is – that even if you’re miserable now – you *can* work things out with a spouse, if you try, and be happy in the future.

But – if one partner is committed to getting out of a marriage, it’s hard for the other partner to hold a marriage intact. Both parties have to be willing to work towards happiness.