But they don’t realize that sometimes there’s a reason:
Before his death, he and Bethann were reconciled as friends and he apologised for his rejection of her, admitting it was his weakness and not her illness that had destroyed their marriage.
Bethann explains: ‘He told me: “Having you look a certain way made me feel more of a man. When you got ill, I suddenly felt like there was nothing to show that I was worth something. I was so angry with you, for changing from the prize I thought you were.” ’ (…)
A 2009 study of more than 500 married U.S. couples conducted at Washington University, Seattle, found that men are seven times more likely to leave a relationship because of their partner’s serious illness than a woman is.
Similarly, in the Macmillan study, 31 per cent of women said their relationship had ended due to cancer — compared with 11 per cent of men.
‘Men are more visual than women and are more likely to be attracted by what they see. Equally they are more likely to reject for this reason,’ says Leila Collins.
