Any couple who has been through a divorce knows that “‘Til death do us part” doesn’t always happen. And people usually imagine the “sickness” in the phrase “in sickness and in health” to take place in a couple’s sunset years. It doesn’t always happen that way. And a new study finds that when serious illness afflicts a spouse – particularly a woman – divorce or partner abandonment is not uncommon.
According to a CNN article, a study published in the journal Cancer in 2009 found that married women suffering from a serious illness were much more likely to get divorced than men who were significantly ill.
Of those who participated in the study, the divorce rate was reportedly 21 percent for ill women, while it was only three percent for seriously ill men. And, according to CNN, the study also found that as likely as men were to leave a sick spouse, women were as likely to stay.
Researchers are scratching their heads at the discrepancy, but a few possible reasons have been discussed. For any couple, the financial and physical challenges of a serious illness can take their toll. But truck accident lawyer in Houston Jimmy Romano points out that men, in particular, may not be completely used to the role of “caregiver,” which can make them feel uncomfortable and alienated.
Experts also say that men tend to lean on their wives for moral support. Women lean on their husbands too, but often confide in friends as well. So, if the wife is sick, that might leave the husband with no one else to talk to or share frustrations with.
Ironically, men might leave a marriage due to a fear of abandonment or tax issues which can be resolved with help from tax law attorneys in NJ. For some couples, though, a serious illness like cancer can bring them together. Clearly, a lot depends on personality and circumstance.
