Tearing down my House

I have recently been talking to an old friend of mine who is in his early forties and considering a divorce. According to him, He can’t take any more of ‘what He is getting’. For most part of the marriage, they have not lived as husband and wife, only that they stay in the same house. No spousal form of communication at all and the reason why He tarried this long is because of the only thing that binds them together, His child. I am not so sure that I can do justice to the description of what He is facing but I will try.
What will you call a woman that does not give a hoot about her husband, what He eats, drinks or wears and also refuses physical intimacy with her husband? Yet, the husband still pays the bills and takes care of her responsibilities. I still find it very hard to believe that a woman will use her own hands to tear the house she built for years apart. According to him, nothing happened, she just changed. One thing I have wished for constantly since my friend has been talking to me about this issue is for an opportunity to speak to his wife (without letting her know what I am up to) to get her own side of the story, which I don’t think will ever happen. If everything my friend told me is true, then I must say that he has gone through hell and high water. After hearing phase one of his story, my heart went out to him and I was depressed for a whole day (I am still depressed on his behalf).
Before putting up this post, I sent it to the guy in question for review, just to ask if there was anything he’d like to add or delete. He agreed with everything I wrote, only that it was one-sided. According to him, his wife is very nice, caring and friendly but she is just not a ‘wife’. In order words, the qualities of a wife cannot be found in her. He said she is more of a ‘trophy wife’ than a wife material. Nice, after all these years of unusual treatment, he still loves her enough to put up a defense for her.
I was brought up with the indoctrinated mindset that wives are supposed to care for their husbands and vice versa (weren’t we all?). I will derive joy every time I look at my husband and see the effect of the value I was able to add to his life. I won’t go tearing down my house for any reason. From his story, I have learnt part of what not to do if I don’t want to lose my marriage and with God on my side, I am sure I will not.
I posted this with my friend’s permission so that we can all learn something from it.