Can separation renew a relationship?

[joela]

Opinion?

After 35 years of marriage, Mark Earnhart came home one day and told his wife, Jeanine, that he wanted a separation. He said he was tired of the bickering and tension, the lack of communication, how they never did anything together anymore.

His wife sadly agreed that the marriage seemed broken. So Mr. Earnhart, a chiropractor, moved out of their home to a furnished apartment on the other side of San Juan Island, in Washington.

Three months later husband and wife were back together. They have been married now for 42 years.

It seems counterintuitive: How can a separation save a marriage? When a couple splits—even for a trial period—isn't that just a pit stop on the way to divorce?

[Chef's Slaad]

It usually is.

These kinds of stories remind us that it doesn't always have to be that way and that sometimes losing something makes you appreciate how much you loved it in the first place.

[TriOmegaZero]

While military divorce rates are high, there are still plenty of us who remain married.

[Sanakht Inaros]

My wife and I were seperated for awhile. She's undergone a lot of therapy for her family issues and has worked hard to make things up to me. It really comes down to the couple though. Right now, there are a couple of issues that no amount of counseling will resolve. But we'll cross those bridges when we come to them. It hasn't been easy, but then again, no one said it would.

[Crimson Jester]

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

While not always true, I have seen divorced couples who many times move back in together and seem to have a better relationship as "room mates" than they did as husband and wife.

Now I feel there are many reasons for this, however I also feel that this website forum is not the place for that discussion.

It could also be they are the exception to the rule and I am just full of it.

[Kirth Gersen]

I've heard of a lot of married couples who had separate bedrooms -- they said it gave them their own "space" when they wanted it -- according to them, it made their marriages much stronger.

Disclaimer: I can't actually afford a separate bedroom, so I haven't tested this personally.

[TheWhiteknife]

I can't speak for everyone, but it worked for me and my baby's mamma. That and counseling.

[ShadowcatX]

Anything is possible.

[The Thing from Beyond the Edge]

CAN it? Yes, but I wouldn't bet on it.