Better the devil you know, then the devil you don't know.
There was a married couple in our community where the husband detested his wife. He felt a lot of vitriol towards her, and she hated him, too. He had a side chick whom he wouldn't marry because the wife was one of those "heev heev" type and therefore, it would've been too much drama for him. As if there wasn't already drama.
Btw, the side chick was an older single woman who couldn't bear children so she was a perfect option for the husband. Anyways, the husband coped by working all the time and then on weekends he'd go hunting and fishing all day and night. Just to show how much the husband didn't want to be in the marriage, he wouldn't even stay for their own family gatherings. No one ever saw much of him except as he was leaving for work. This guy loved over-time or something, and since he was a white-collar professional, he always used work an excuse not to be home. And then of course, hunting was his coping mechanism for stress.
The wife wasn't a great person either. She was highly critical of the husband and berated him at every opportunity. Then she would weaponize his reactions by talking in public about how bad he was, and how he didn't love her. This went on for decades until his health deteriorated and he had a stroke. At that point, he was really at her mercy and that's when she would gloat. She provoked fights by bringing up the side chick, knowing that he was debilitated and couldn't speak. Every time she had to feed or bathe him, she'd say things like, "yom, cov neeg siab phem mas yeej npam tiag." One day, despite being immobilized, the husband was able to get a hold of his hunting rifle and shot himself dead.
I have no encouraging words to say to these toxic couples. The wife stayed in the marriage only because she wanted to torment him for all the times that he mistreated her. While he only stayed because despite her being "heev heev" and not someone he desired, she was the industrious type who got things done around the house. And not to mention, she was good with money, didn't cheat, and was useful to him in those ways. She also came from a good family and that also benefitted him because he had none.