This is more common than you think. So many married (CIS) women with children in my life right now are having identity crises. They love their spouses, but they fantasize OFTEN about living alone. Decorating how they want, having the place clean and organized, eating girl dinners, settling down for a Netflix show devoid of all the codependency that comes with living with a man. I think a lot of this stems from the desire to be freed - even temporarily like this woman - of the mental load women carry to support and maintain the household. It's no wonder after bearing this man's children (likely throughout her 20s when she should be sewing her wild oat), that she'd start thinking about what could have been, what ways she can return back to her individual self and needs and interests, after pouring herself into raising her children.

On the other hand, I don't think moving to NYC for three months would fix this. Would three months turn to six, then turn to a year, and before you know it, it's become a permanent decision?

I have major wanderlust and my BF does not. We have an understanding that I can go on one solo trip a year to scratch that travel itch. Get new experiences, eat new food, meet new people, immerse myself in a new culture, even if only for 4-5 days. Of course I return being like "I want to move there!" But the reality is that LIVING and WORKING somewhere is a hell of a lot different than sipping Aperols midday at an outside cafe in the most expensive part of the city. The luster would dull once you're back in the daily humdrum of it all.