Believe me, I do feel a bit of a failure for not making my marriage work

They won’t always work though, and what is the point of staying married if it doesn’t. I am eternally grateful that my parents separated. Granted the timing wasn’t great, but everyones happy now and that’s the important thing.

Can I just make the point that sometimes it can be just one person deciding they want out of a marriage?

Hypothetically speaking, the other person may be completely unaware that unhappiness exists. Depends on whether any communication skills are involved.

“Boo hoo, the government won’t buy my house for me.”

Sell it then. Fool.

I don’t understand why you don’t need some kind of a license to have kids.