There is no defensible universal statistic for how often a spouse “abandons” a partner who is terminally ill. The number most often repeated online — 20.8% — comes from a 2009 study of 515 married people with serious medical illnesses. In that study, divorce or separation occurred in 20.8% of marriages when the patient was a woman, compared with 2.9% when the patient was a man.
That finding matters, but it is often described too loosely. The study did not include only terminally ill people, it did not study cancer alone, and it did not establish which spouse initiated a divorce or separation. So “20.8% of husbands leave their sick wives” is not what the research actually proved.
There is another reason to be careful with statistics on this subject. A separate 2015 study about serious illness and divorce was retracted after a coding error was found, then corrected and republished. The corrected paper still found an association between some measures of a wife’s illness and divorce risk, but its findings were narrower than the viral version of the story.
What do the statistics on illness and divorce actually show?
The 2009 serious-illness study
The most-cited study is “Gender disparity in the rate of partner abandonment in patients with serious medical illness”, published in Cancer in 2009.
Researchers followed 515 married patients: 214 people with malignant primary brain tumors, 193 with solid tumors outside the nervous system, and 108 with multiple sclerosis. Across the whole group, 11.6% of marriages ended in divorce or separation during follow-up. When the patient was a woman, the rate was 20.8%. When the patient was a man, it was 2.9%.
The researchers described this as a large gender disparity. But several limits matter when interpreting it:
- The sample involved three specific serious-illness groups, not all cancers and not all terminal illnesses.
- The outcome was divorce or separation. It did not identify who initiated the breakup.
- A marriage ending after diagnosis does not, by itself, establish why it ended.
- The percentages should not be treated as universal probabilities for every couple facing serious illness.
That last distinction is especially important because the phrase “partner abandonment” sounds as though researchers observed one spouse walking out on the other because of illness. The data recorded marital outcomes. They cannot answer every question about motive, responsibility or what was happening inside those relationships.
The 2015 illness-and-divorce study was retracted and corrected
A second paper is also frequently cited in discussions about husbands leaving ill wives. Amelia Karraker and Kenzie Latham analysed 2,701 marriages from the US Health and Retirement Study, looking at cancer, heart problems, lung disease and stroke.
The original 2015 paper was retracted after a serious coding problem was identified in the marital-status data. A corrected version was then published.
The corrected paper reported that measures of a wife’s illness onset were associated with elevated divorce risk, while illness affecting either spouse was associated with widowhood. The sex difference was statistically significant for heart problems. That is a much more specific finding than the blanket claim that men generally leave wives who become seriously ill.
Any article still citing the retracted version as clean evidence should be treated cautiously.
What newer 2026 cancer data adds
A much larger study published in August 2026 offers useful context, although it still does not measure “abandonment.” Researchers analysed 457,058 adults with multiple primary cancers in US SEER data from 2000 to 2021.
Among 255,939 people who were married at their first cancer diagnosis, 5% were later recorded as not married — divorced, separated or single — and 11% were widowed. Women were more likely than men to move into the not-married category (6% versus 4%) and to be widowed (16% versus 7%).
The study, “Social disruption after cancer: longitudinal changes in marital status, residence, and income among over 450,000 cancer patients”, is valuable because of its scale. It still cannot tell us which partner initiated a separation, whether illness caused it, or whether its findings apply to everyone with cancer. The analysis also focused on people with multiple primary cancers whose status could be compared between recorded diagnoses.
Why the “20.8% of husbands leave sick wives” claim is misleading
The figure is based on a real study. The wording usually attached to it goes beyond the evidence.
- 20.8% was the divorce-or-separation rate among female patients in one 515-person serious-illness cohort.
- It was not a study of all terminally ill wives. The cohort included cancer and multiple sclerosis.
- It did not establish that husbands initiated every breakup.
- It did not prove that illness was the sole reason a marriage ended.
- A separate 2015 study often folded into this claim was retracted and corrected.
There is evidence that gender can be associated with different marital outcomes after serious illness in some populations. That is worth reporting. Turning those findings into a universal “one in five husbands abandon sick wives” rule is not.
Does terminal illness cause divorce?
Research cannot support one universal answer. Studies use different diagnoses, age groups, follow-up periods and definitions of marital breakdown. Some find gender differences. Others find more limited or condition-specific effects.
Observational research also cannot tell us that a diagnosis caused an individual divorce. A relationship may already have been under strain, the patient may have initiated the separation, both partners may have agreed to it, or circumstances not captured in the dataset may have mattered.
If you are looking for a single percentage because you or your partner has just been diagnosed, these studies are population-level evidence. They are not a prediction of what will happen to your relationship.
Why serious illness can put pressure on a relationship
Serious illness can change the practical shape of a relationship quickly. Work, money, housework, parenting, intimacy, decision-making and caregiving may all shift at once.
The US National Cancer Institute says couples dealing with cancer commonly report more stress than usual around communication, changing roles, decisions, daily routines, work and caregiving, and sexual connection. Some relationships become stronger; others become more strained. Those pressures are real without assuming that separation is inevitable.
If you are trying to work through those changes together, our article on coping when a spouse is chronically ill looks at the relationship from that practical, day-to-day angle.
If your partner leaves after a serious diagnosis
Statistics can feel very personal when you are the person living through a breakup. But a population study cannot tell you why your relationship ended or what you should do next.
Start with the support that is useful now. That may mean telling your health-care team that your home or support situation has changed, asking whether a social worker or patient navigator is available, and getting trusted help with immediate practical issues such as housing, transport, care arrangements, money or paperwork.
For the emotional side of the breakup, see how to cope after being dumped because of chronic illness. If illness has also changed your wider support network, our article on why friendships can change when you are sick may also help.
Legal questions depend on where you live
“Spousal abandonment” can have a specific legal meaning in some jurisdictions, but simply using that phrase does not establish a legal claim. Divorce, separation, financial support, health-insurance consequences, decision-making rights and estate issues vary by location and personal circumstances.
If a separation affects your finances, insurance, housing, medical decision-making or access to support, get advice from a lawyer or legal-aid service in your jurisdiction. This article describes research on relationship outcomes; it is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of husbands leave their wives with cancer?
There is no reliable universal percentage for “husbands leaving wives with cancer.” The often-quoted 20.8% figure comes from a 2009 study in which 20.8% of marriages involving a female patient ended in divorce or separation, compared with 2.9% when the patient was male. The study included brain tumors, other solid tumors and multiple sclerosis, and it did not identify which spouse initiated the breakup.
Are men more likely to leave a seriously or terminally ill spouse?
Some studies have found worse marital outcomes when the patient is a woman. The 2009 study found a large sex difference in its specific cohort. The corrected 2015 study found a more limited pattern, with a statistically significant sex difference for heart problems rather than a simple across-the-board rule. There is not a single universal statistic for terminal illness.
What does the 2026 cancer study show?
In a 2026 SEER analysis of 457,058 adults with multiple primary cancers, 5% of those married at their first diagnosis were later recorded as divorced, separated or single, while 11% were widowed. Women had higher rates than men of both becoming not married and becoming widowed. The study tracked changes in marital status; it did not identify who ended a relationship or prove that cancer caused the change.
Is spousal abandonment illegal?
That depends on the jurisdiction and what “abandonment” means in the specific legal context. Family-law rules differ widely. If illness-related separation creates questions about support, property, insurance or decision-making, use qualified local legal advice rather than a general internet statistic.
Sources
- Glantz MJ et al. Gender disparity in the rate of partner abandonment in patients with serious medical illness. Cancer. 2009.
- Karraker A, Latham K. In Sickness and in Health? Physical Illness as a Risk Factor for Marital Dissolution in Later Life. Corrected and republished version. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2015.
- Zhao LM, Yang J, Xu WY. Social disruption after cancer: longitudinal changes in marital status, residence, and income among over 450,000 cancer patients. Cancer Causes & Control. 2026.
- National Cancer Institute. Facing Cancer with Your Spouse or Partner.
