When your marriage is falling apart nothing in your world feels right. If your spouse has approached you with their desire to either separate or divorce it's difficult to think about anything but that. Even though most marriages go through rough patches from time-to-time some hit a point where one partner feels the only solution is to end the relationship. If you are in this position and a divorce isn't what you want, there are things you can do to help mend your marriage.

It's incredibly important, when your marriage is falling apart, that you respect the wishes of your partner. If they ask you for a separation, don't automatically refuse to even consider it. If you do this it makes them feel trapped and only adds to their belief that they are doing the right thing by leaving you. Instead agree to discuss the possibility and if it turns out that they are determined to separate, agree to it. It seems that agreeing to time apart is counterproductive to saving your marriage, but it can be instrumental in helping change your spouse's mind. Sometimes some distance is what is needed to remind someone of how much they truly adore their spouse. Let them go. You can still work on the marriage even if you aren't living together.

Don't point fingers when your marriage is falling apart. Placing all the blame on your spouse will only cause them to feel hurt and resentful. In almost every case, marriages fall apart because of the actions of both partners. If you can recognize what you did wrong you need to apologize to your spouse. Also listen to them if they want to right whatever wrongs they have done. An important step in saving a marriage is forgiving your partner and leaving the past in the past. Although this isn't always easy, it's necessary if you want to rebuild your relationship.

Keeping secrets is never a good thing in a serious relationship and this is especially true when your marriage is falling apart. If there are issues that you feel your spouse should know about, now is the time to share. If you want to save your marriage you have to do so with a clean slate. This means both you and your spouse must share everything and keep on sharing everything if you hope to make your marriage stronger and save it from a divorce.