In 2023, when COVID was still hovering in the corner of our eyes, Belle Burden published a Modern Love essay in the New York Times about the abrupt ending of her marriage over lockdown. She hadn’t seen it coming. She hadn’t even a clue. And she was provided with no answers. “On March 22, at 6am, my husband told me he wanted a divorce,” she wrote. “He packed a bag, got in his Jeep and boarded a ferry. We had been married for nearly 21 years.”

“I had no idea he was unhappy,” Burden continued, in the clear, plain tones of someone who can still taste an event. “He wasn’t affectionate or adoring, but I felt a current of abiding love. He never flirted with other women in front of me. We didn’t bicker. He seemed content and invested in our life. He designed an addition to our garage and plan

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