Some individuals can’t get their partners into marriage counseling until bringing up divorce. The person may have been talking about getting help for their marital problems for years, but their partner wasn’t interested. But now that divorce is on the table, the partner  finally agrees to couples counseling

This can be like a physician who tells you to eat healthier and exercise more. Maybe that creates change, but not necessarily.

The talk of divorce is more like having a heart attack. The person who had the heart attack  now seriously works on themselves, knowing that staying alive necessitates improving their diet and exercise.

The risk is that the initial partner may no longer want to work on the marriage. But hopefully, the risk of divorce is now the leverage needed to work on the marriage. Of course it’s better to work on marital health before it’s dire. But it’s better late than never.