After suffering a car crash with a woman who was not his wife, actor Morgan Freeman has also announced that his marriage has been seriously bruised.

Although Freeman, 71, has been separated since last December from his wife of 24 years, 67-year-old set and costume designer Myrna Colley-Lee, the widely reported crash this week injured not only the Academy Award-winning actor, but his wife's feelings. Access Hollywood reported today that the couple is involved in a "divorce action."

That car crash — the passenger, Demaris Meyer, 48, who lives in Memphis is described as Freeman's friend — may have put the announcement of their marital problems into overdrive.

Many women suffer in quiet and make Faustian bargains in their marriages. When their private lives become public, political wives like Hillary Clinton and Silda Spitzer opt to soldier on and preserve their marriages.

For others it is a tipping point. Studies show that boredom can give men the desire to shift gears, and perhaps turn down a new road.

Patching up a relationship requires both people to participate in working out their problems.

Morgan Freeman is currently starring in "The Dark Knight" and has been in movies ranging from "Driving Miss Daisy" and "The Shawshank Redemption" to "Kiss the Girls."

Perhaps he’s been doing that last one too much.

However, any marriage that lasts 24 years is considered a great success. Sometimes people grow apart, but they are still likely to remain in each other’s lives because of so much history, so many shared experiences.