“A bizarre sensation pervades a relationship of pretense. No truth seems true. A simple morning’s greeting and response appear loaded with innuendo and fraught with implications. Each nicety becomes more sterile and each withdrawal more permanent.”
Maya Angelou (1928 -)
American Writer
I have often questions the thought behind those who stay in relationships when the relationships are fraught with  anxiety, stress and indifference. Worse yet, when the relationship develops into animosity.
When I have asked, most often the answers they will come up with for staying in a relationship which is dysfunctional to say the least, is because of the children, financial and a genuine fear of being alone.
The answers have come equally from men and women, although women are more often likely to answer that they don’t want to be alone.
I was 15 when I asked my father to divorce my mother. Everyone was so unhappy in our home. But my father’s answer was “I choose to marry her, I’ve learned to live with it.”
Oddly he told me I had to do the very same thing when my marriage was a train wreck. Fortunately, the priest who knew me, gave me permission to take care of myself and move on towards a life which has obviously been more fulfilling.