This Woman Left Her Husband Of 22 Years Because He Supported Trump

To say that recent political happenings have rattled this country to the core is a huge understatement.

But for one woman, President Donald Trump has not only affected her country, but also her 22-year marriage.

Last year, Gayle McCormick, 73, heard her husband William casually tell friends over lunch that he was going to vote for Trump.

Although this was before the primaries when nobody knew exactly who would be the presidential nominees, she felt "betrayed" by her husband's comment, REUTERS reports.

McCormick describes herself as a "Democrat leaning towards socialist" who was very aware of her Republican husband's conservative viewpoints and never planned on leaving him because of them. But it "totally undid [her]" knowing he could possibly vote for Trump.

"I said, 'I can't believe that somebody I could be married to could vote for someone whose track record is so obviously poor in terms of civil liberties, his feelings about women, how he treats people in general," she said.

On election day, McCormick's husband actually didn't end up voting for Trump. He chose Newt Gingrich.

But still, the damage had been done.

She said,

I felt like I had been fooling myself. It opened up areas between us I had not faced before. I realized how far I had gone in my life to accept things I would have never accepted when I was younger.... It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing that.

The two won't actually be getting a divorce — "We're too old for that," she said — but they will be living separately. She now lives on her own in Bellingham, Washington.

McCormick's relationship worries might be over, but her worries about her country are just beginning, as she's extremely fearful of what's to come under a Trump administration.

She said,

I'm scared I have to find a new dentist. I have to find a new doctor. Those are things that don't seem like much, but when you're 73 and you have diabetes and you've had a stroke, it gets scary to find new people and starting over.

She also added, “I think that women's rights are in jeopardy. I'm really frightened at [Trump's] cabinet choices.”

This election hasn't only affected the McCormicks. According to a Reuters poll of 6,426 respondents, 13.4 percent of people have ended a relationship with a family member or friend because of the election.

Other people have had at least one argument with a family member or close friend (38.7 percent), stopped talking to family members or close friends (16.4 percent) or blocked a family member or close friend from social media (17.4 percent).

It's interesting to recall a time when politics was something you tried to avoid talking about with loved ones.

But now, it appears to have become one of the things that determines how compatible you are with someone on a fundamental level.

Citations: From disputes to a breakup: wounds still raw after U.S. election (REUTERS), My 22-year marriage didn't survive Trump's election (NY Post)