Is desertion now irrelevant in divorce?

Under no fault divorce, desertion is no longer relevant. The only requirement to obtain a divorce is that one spouse, or the couple jointly confirm that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. The cause for the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage may however be that one spouse abandoned, or deserted the other. The date of one spouse leaving the marriage may be relevant in the financial matters arising from the divorce to identify matrimonial and non-matrimonial assets.