While rumours about cracks in their marriage have been doing the rounds for some time now, the usually outspoken Shashi Tharoor’s studied silence has been nothing less than ominous.When Sunanda put down her absence from Delhi to a health malady, there was a sense that the marital strife, if serious, was still reconciliable. While there’s been so sign at all of a rapprochement between the couple, we hear their differences could have reached a point of no return. Sunanda, who had quit her work in the Dubai real estate sector post marriage, is now exploring new opportunities there while Shashi is single-mindedly chasing his political dreams. According to friends of the couple, while there was an effort to save the marriage, Sunanda and Shashi may have finally come around to the view that it’s best to go their separate ways with minimum fuss. With election year looming, the decision is a difficult one for Tharoor personally as well as professionally.Though we’re still hoping the time apart will encourage a rethink, those in the know suggest that it’s now a simply question of when — and not if — they will opt for a divorce. For both, it’ll be third time unlucky.