It was discussed in my orientation program. The life changes that we are going through have an impact on many (all?) of our relationships and we need to understand that. They mentioned that many people do get divorced after WLS. Some of the examples they talked about were when one spouse gets the surgery without the other one being on board for all of the changes required. In that situation, the WLS does cause new stress in the relationship.

My wife is fully on board and I am confident we will be together on the other side, but it is good info to be aware of the extra stresses that can/will come with the surgery.

Rob

I don't have to worry about that....my fiance left right before surgery....good luck, its life changing for all, but doesn't guarantee divorce

Well this one is right down my alley so to speak. I am a relationship therapist. I can assure you that if one partner views the weight loss as a negative, then yes there is a higher chance of separation. However there are very few challenges relationships cannot weather if BOTH people want to and if they are willing to make the effort using the right 'tools'. Lets face it we all know bout tools and what they do to help. So can you become divorced,,,yes of course. But is it more likely because of WLS? Well you can do a lot to prevent that happening. Be prepared for changes and challenges. Talk about your expectations and be clear and honest about them. Talk about your fears and be clear and honest about them.
Personally I have found the hardest times in my marriage has been when my weight is high and my self esteem low. Which tells me I contribute to a lot of the negative as well.

My thoughts on this are that if both people are committed to the relationship and keep doing what they need to do to make the relationship work then it will work.
If you spouse is against you having the surgery, there may be issues.
That being said, my ex-husband didn't voice any objections up front but we ended up divorcing about a year later. BUT we had issues in the past well before surgery and although I thought we were past those issues, I guess I was wrong. Our divorce had nothing to do with my surgery but everything to do with his cheating on me. Did he cheat because he was insecure with the person I was becoming? I don't think so because he had cheated at least once in the past (that is once I know of). I think he was just a chronic cheater and not picky at all. He had cheated with a younger, smaller woman and with an older, larger woman. I just think he couldn't keep it in his pants to anyone that paid him any attention.
Also though as I lost weight, I gained self-esteem and would no longer put up with his verbal and emotional abuse. I stood up for myself and he didn't like that he couldn't control me with his name calling and degrading. Nor would I allow him to cheat yet again and not do anything about it.
So did my WLS cause our divorce? Absolutely not. It did help me to get the self-esteem and self-respect I should have had all along to not tolerate his BS.

You are right to think that the marriages that end are those that were not healthy to begin with. Improving your health and in turn your life, should make the marriage better, and will if it's a healthy marriage to begin with. My husband is 100% behind me in this journey, was from the day I made the decision to do this.

I had my sleeve 3 years ago. Next month we are celebrating 40 years of marriage. As is typical of any long term marriage, we've had our ups and downs. He loved me at my biggest of 386. My weight wasn't an issue but he sure is liking the new me as it comes off. Yes because I look better, more appealing, but more because I feel more appealing and act it with him and because we can do things together we haven't been able to in years because I was too big to walk that far or fit in that space, etc.

Don't let anyone make you think that improving your health is going to ruin your marriage. You already know it's not true because you said it, the marriages were in trouble way before the surgery.

My husband and I had a long talk the week before I had surgery. At the time, I weighed 300 pounds and he weighed around 390. I begged him to please consider changing his eating lifestyle so we could lose weight together and get healthy together. He heard me. He heard my concern for his health. He heard how much I loved him and how much I wanted us to be able to LIVE life... not just watch it pass us by. Since my surgery, by avoiding refined carbs and sugar, and increasing his exercise, my hubby has lost almost 100 pounds!!! He looks like a whole different guy!! We are both excited about the changes in our bodies-- but more importantly, the process has brought us together. We eat the same things, we take walks together, we cheer each other on. It has been just wonderful WLS does not have to mean trouble for a marriage. For us, it has been a blessing.