Recently I wrote about a man who was so desperate to leave his wife of 31 years that he robbed a bank in order to get thrown in jail.
To add to the theme of “precipitous separations”, there was report in the U.S. recently of a 73-year-old woman, Gayle McCormick, who decided to end her 22-year marriage because her husband announced, during lunch with friends, that he was planning to vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming elections.
The retired California prison guard said that she was “in shock” over his revelation, and it was the “breaking point” and “catalyst” for calling it quits on the marriage.
She explained: “It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life doing that.”
Perhaps ironically, McCormick decided on a separation even though ultimately her husband changed his mind and did not actually end up voting for Trump (instead, he submitted a write-in vote for Newt Gingrich). She said the fact that her husband could agree with Trump on any of the issues “totally undid” her, and that she was tired and older and didn’t want to argue with him since she knew neither of them would change. Although she concludes that they are “too old” to go through a formal divorce, she and her husband are no longer living together.
It’s not a common scenario, but it’s not as unusual as it may seem: According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken between December 27, 2016 and January 18, 2017:
• 39 percent of respondents admit to arguing with family and friends over politics;
• 16 percent said they have stopped talking to a family member or friend because of the election 13 percent said they had ended a relationship with a family member or close friend over the election.
