California woman leaves husband of 22 years because he planned to vote for Donald Trump

The latest victim of our politically polarized nation: the 22-year-long marriage of a California couple.

Gayle McCormick, a retired prison guard, left her husband after he told her he was planning to vote for Donald Trump, according to a report by Reuters.

McCormick describes herself as a "Democrat leaning towards socialist" so when her husband mentioned his political preferences last year, she decided it was a "deal breaker."

"It totally undid me that he could vote for Trump," McCormick told Reuters. "I was incensed. I said, 'I can't believe that somebody that I would be married to would vote for someone whose track record is so obviously poor in terms of civil liberties, his feelings about women, how he treats people in general.'"

The 73-year-old woman has since separated from her husband and has started a new life in Bellingham, Wash.



Gayle McCormick says she left her husband when she found out he was planning to vote for Donald Trump. Gayle McCormick says she left her husband when she found out he was planning to vote for Donald Trump. Photo: This content is subject to copyright. Photo: This content is subject to copyright. Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close California woman leaves husband of 22 years because he planned to vote for Donald Trump 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

When you look at the numbers, it's perhaps surprising we don't hear more stories like McCormick's. According to a CNN/ORC poll conducted in November after the 2016 election, 80 percent of Americans believed the country is more divided on major issues than it has been over the past several years.

A more recent poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos found that 13 percent of respondents claimed to have ended a relationship because of issues related to the election. Sixteen percent said they had stopped talking to a close family member or friend, and 17 percent admitted to blocking someone on social media.

Perhaps as an effort toward reconciliation, McCormick's husband reportedly ended up writing in "Newt Gingrich" on his ballot in November.

That move may have earned him points. McCormick told Reuters that although they no longer live together, the couple doesn't have plans to formally file for divorce and they're even planning a vacation together.