Grasswidow

A Grasswidow (or Grass-widow, grass widow) is a wife whose husband will return after a limited period of time away, usually after a voyage. In a second sense it can refer to a woman divorced or separated from her husband. The male equivalent is a grasswidower.
Term
The "grass" refers to the mattress, which used to be filled with grass: The "widow" is left back on the grass/mattress. "Grasswidower" can carry the implication that the husband is helpless when left home alone by his wife, especially in the kitchen. In dialect, it can also refer to a discarded mistress, or a woman who has an illegitimate child.
see link http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gra1.htm query grasswidow
A more common usage is for a woman whose husband has left her because "the grass was greener on the other side of the fence." This can mean either abandonment or divorce to pursue another partner or a more interesting life somewhere else.

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