[tkahnoski]

It's self-selecting. If the relationship was not in a healthy state to begin with, divorce doesn't fix that dysfunction. It's full admission the relationship between two people isn't something both parties can come together and resolve. The fact that there are any "healthy" divorces amazes me.

We can easily see the population of divorced families, it's much harder for us to shine a light on "should be divorced but aren't". I have a hard time believing kids with a dysfunctional parent relationship at home would be better off.

[brightball]

The difference will always be that in a divorce, at least one parent left voluntarily and for a widow that was not the case.

For the kids, they’ll feel this for the rest of their lives regardless of any other circumstances.