Originally posted by iveco:
Can she?

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The Electric New Paper :
More expat marriages in trouble
Singapore: Expat temptation island?
DRESSED in a long blue floral dress and leather sandals, auburn-haired Rachel (not her real name), looks like your typical expatriate wife.
By Crystal Chan
19 October 2005
DRESSED in a long blue floral dress and leather sandals, auburn-haired Rachel (not her real name), looks like your typical expatriate wife.
But is she living a life of leisure, basking in the luxury of her husband's posting and enjoying perks like free housing, allowances and travel?
No.
Instead, Rachel, 48, an Australian housewife, looks at her time in Singapore with bitterness. She has been separated from her husband, a banker, for two years.
She is among an increasing number of Caucasian women whose marriages hit the rocks after their husbands were posted to Singapore.
And she blames their marital woes on a pretty young Singaporean woman.
Rachel, who has two adult sons from her marriage, said: 'My husband was good to us until he met a 20-something local woman. I can't make him want this family, but I believe she must have seduced him.
'My husband never strayed while we were in Australia, so I was really shocked when he said he fell in love with a Singaporean woman and wanted to marry her.'
GREAT PLACE TO LIVE
Rachel intends to return to Australia after finalising her divorce early next year. She will leave with an unpleasant aftertaste of life in Singapore.
Yes, Singapore is a great place to live and work for expatriates.
Last year, in a survey of 215 cities by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Singapore tied with Tokyo as the most attractive Asian city for expatriates.
But Rachel's experience, along with accounts from marriage counsellors, suggest that the downside is that many expat men are enticed by local women.
Lawyers, marriage counsellors and officials of expatriate associations who spoke to The New Paper say that they are seeing more expatriates with marital problems.
Divorce lawyer Ellen Lee, who has been practising for 24 years, says she sees an average of 12 expatriate couples every year, a big jump from the three or four couples she saw annually before 2000.
Expatriate couples can have their marriages dissolved in Singapore if they have lived here for at least three years.
The most common reason for marital break-ups among expatriates is infidelity by men.
Said Ms Karen Gosling, an Australian who has been practising family counselling for 20 years: 'I'm seeing many more cases here than I ever did in Australia.'
She has been trying to mend marriages here for the past eight years. Eighty per cent of her clientele are expatriates.
'Many expatriate men are in regional positions requiring frequent travel. In some parts of Asia, prostitutes are easily available, so there's a temptation to stray.'
The Pinkerton Syndrome - when Asian women think of Caucasian men as being superior - is partly to blame.
Ms Lee said: 'Asians, including women, tend to be more submissive and receptive towards Caucasians, whereas white women are seen as equal to their male counterparts.
'So here, the white men would welcome it when local women are more than willing to serve them.'
Miss Sue Lim, a marketing executive who is engaged to a divorced American, empathises with this.
Miss Lim, who is in her 20s, said: 'Caucasians are definitely more appealing than local men. They're more gentlemanly, and they're willing to share household chores too.
'Generally, local men are still chauvinistic and don't know how to treat women like ladies.'
Was she having an affair with him before his divorce?
No, said Miss Lim. She said they began dating after he separated from his wife, although they met before his separation.
'I don't think I'm a home-wrecker because I never forced my fiance to leave his wife and children. He was the one who fell in love with me.'
At the Singapore American Community Action Council (Sacac), more expatriates are also seeking marriage counselling at its office in the American Club.
Ms Margo Passarella, a counsellor at Sacac, sees eight to 10 couples a week, an increase from previous years. But she claims that it is not only because of male infidelity.
She said: 'Infidelity is not uncommon. Usually, though not exclusively, it's the men who had the indiscretion. But there are also many reasons for marital problems.'
LONELY WIVES
There are expatriate wives who cheat on their husbands too.
Ms Gosling said: 'While their expatriate husbands travel, the wives are left here alone, without anyone to see to their emotional needs.'
Two of her clients were a British couple. The wife had been having an affair with a friend of theirs for nearly two years.
A lack of communication was the root of the couple's problems, which were compounded by the husband's frequent travels and long working hours.
Despite more expatriate marriages getting into trouble, there is a silver lining - couples who seek counselling are keen on salvaging their relationships.
Besides seeking help, the wives, says Ms Gosling, have a lot to lose if they divorce their husbands.
It takes between six and 12 sessions for these couples to get their marriages back on track.
She said: 'A marriage involves money, extended family ties and children. It's very hard to walk away from all that.
'During counselling, I suggest strategies to help my clients rebuild the trust in the relationship, so that the marriage becomes better than before.'
When counselling and other avenues fail, some expatriate couples prefer to return to their home countries for divorce. This is because divorce laws here are different.
The women, especially, may want to have their divorce finalised in their homeland if they can get a better deal.
Lawyer Wong Kai Yun said: 'It's more practical for the couple to divorce in their own country, if most of their assets are there.
'Certain agreements may also be easier to enforce overseas. For example, pre-nuptial agreements are acceptable in the West, but they're outlawed here.'