(RealSimple.com) -- A lengthy separation -- and a surprise trip to Paris -- caused this husband and wife to realize that their marriage could be saved. Mary L. Tabor and Del Persinger Washington, D.C. Married 26 years Mary was still in her nightgown and robe, sipping a cappuccino in the kitchen of the Washington, D.C., brownstone she shared with her husband, Del, when he walked in and announced he wanted to live alone. They had been married for 21 years. "I didn't know what had hit me," Mary, 64, recalls of that fall morning in 2005. "I wondered, does he have a girlfriend? A boyfriend? I had no idea what was wrong."
@highlight
After 21 years of marriage, Del announced to his wife that he wanted to live alone
@highlight
Mary felt "broken" without Del, who had helped raise her two children
@highlight
Mary and Del say open communication repaired their marriage
Although the couple's relationship had been strained for a few months, @placeholder simply assumed they were going through a rough patch.
"I knew the problem wasn't @placeholder -- it was me," he says.