The greater the investment (usually measured in time), the longer it will take for the person to get “fired.” Or should we say for the stock to be dumped. My friend’s wife left him “suddenly,” but even she conceded to him that it had been 3 years in the making. What he did or didn’t do exactly I am not sure.The “beta backslide” can be a long, drip by drip process. He was shocked to hear how long she’d contemplated it; they had taken trips together during that time for instance. But either way, she’s damned. Leaving suddenly without premeditation reeks of the worst kind of impulsiveness. Letting it secretly build over time til it boiled over makes her look duplicitous and disingenuous. Women won’t tell their man “this needs to get exciting again or I’m out” – not in so many words anyway. But I have no doubt the signs were there to read. Not every man’s eyes are open.