Coming to terms with the fact that my marriage was a failure was devastating and very difficult.

In this statement, McLachlan describes the emotional rupture that can accompany divorce or separation: the grief is not only for the relationship itself but also for the hopes, identity, and future narrative built around it. The phrase “coming to terms” suggests a slow, reluctant process of acceptance rather than a single moment of realization, while “failure” signals the harsh self-judgment people often internalize when a marriage ends. The quote’s force lies in its plainness—no euphemism, no deflection—framing the end of a marriage as a legitimate form of devastation that requires time and resilience to metabolize.