I actually thought this long before I came here. She almost confessed -- married too young, need to evaluate where I want to be versus where I am, etc. I have cetainly come to understand my contribution to our problems.
The distance is indeed the big question. I had to get a new job, and we both knew this. The problem was this was the best job and really the only one that I could afford to take for financial reasons. At this point in time there is really nothing I can do about it.
We were separated living in the same house, and I was paid out of my contract so we were both home all the time. This really made our problems worse. I was trying to fix our marriage and she was needing space.
You may be right that MLC is not the problem, it all just seems to fit. Perhaps too neatly!