My mother got into that cult when I was 13. She drove my dad out of house and home by following Watchtower dictates. The ever changing rules. Making sure he could no longer enjoy holidays. Becoming unable to hold a normal conversation that didn't involve the jws & their god. Alternately treating him as if she pitied him because he was missing something special, & treating him like a second class citizen in the home HE paid for. This cult slowly, but surely, takes over a person's entire life & personality. She learned these tactics at the kingdom hall. That is exactly where the behaviors came from. Her time was so tied up with the jws, & her allegiance was to them, first and foremost. PeacefulPete & Mobbie are right, it is nothing but dysfunction. I could not wait to get free of her & her jw psychosis, & it took my dad a few years of trying before he could not take it anymore & left. I did the same as soon as it was legal.
As a result, not one of her 3 children even have anything to do with her. Her emotional investment was not with the family, it was with WBTS. May they keep her loved, safe, & take care of her when she gets old.
A marriage license is not a life sentence. Sometimes, a person just can't take anymore Watchtower abuse & interference in their life. Sometimes, they just want to be respected as a person, & be happy. I just don't see anything wrong with a person knowing they tried their best, & admitting they can't live like that any longer.
Sometimes, families just want acceptance & real family love, not love that can be turned on and off, depending on pleasing the unpleasable.
It worked for us 4 :) His children are so very fortunate they have him to protect them from the jw cult, & he will see to it that they get what they need, emotionally, & otherwise. He will do this while she runs the watchtower treadmil. They will need him, & he will have what they need.