Word Spy - Viagra divorce

Viagra divorce

n. A divorce granted on the grounds that a husband is behaving aggressively or unfaithfully after taking Viagra or some other anti-impotence drug.
—Viagra divorcee n.

Example Citations:

A wife is divorcing her husband after claiming Viagra made him too demanding in the bedroom.

The middle-aged housewife says her husband became 'sexually aggressive' after being prescribed the tablet to boost their sex life.

Now she has successfully petitioned for divorce on the grounds it amounted to unreasonable behaviour.

It is the first known case of 'Viagra divorce' in Britain and experts believe there could be more to follow.
—Judith Duffy, "First UK Viagra divorce," Daily Record, April 19, 2004

Nobody claims Viagra causes affairs or divorce. But increasingly, it is a factor in both, says Dominic Barbara, who heads a Manhattan law firm with 15 attorneys. In about one of every 15 or 20 new divorce cases, somebody mentions Viagra, he says.

Initially, the Viagra divorce cases were the result of "men straying from marriage," popping a pill seen as the fountain of youth, he says. Then came "cases of men taking Viagra, but their wives were no longer interested in sex. And now, a lot of middle-aged women are having affairs with older men who were impotent before there was Viagra."
—Karen S. Peterson, "Till Viagra do us part?," USA Today, March 22, 2001

Earliest Citation:

Undoubtedly, large numbers of women will greet their sexually recharged lovers with all smiles. But sex therapists and marriage counselors around the country are preparing for another group to flood their offices soon: Viagra refugees. Spouses who don't want the passion that comes with the pill, who were happy with sexually diminished marriages.

Maybe there hasn't been a Viagra divorce yet. But with doctors writing Viagra prescriptions at a rate of 215,000 per week, just give it time. Next on "Jerry Springer": MY HUSBAND LEFT ME FOR HIS VIAGRA TRAMP!
—Eric L. Wee, "Viagra? Not Tonight, Dear," The Washington Post, May 06, 1998

Categories:

Drugs
Medicine
Marriage and Relationships

Posted on May 5, 2005