Every person and every situation is different. I'm an alcoholic and so is my husband. We have known each other since 1978 and have been married since 1992. We became alcoholic together and were drinking buddies for many years. I decided to get sober before he did but we are both working on recovery now. There have been people who have suggested that I "reconsider" staying with him because he might be a "danger" to my sobriety, but unless he became abusive, was unable to work, or became an ***hole in other ways, that's not an option for me. It may sound weird to say, but he is a good man other than his drinking, and when he drinks he just becomes mellow ... I'M the one who is the abusive jerk when I'm drunk. Some people might tell HIM to leave ME, who knows.
What I do know is that while some may consider our relationship dysfunctional, we are good people who love each other and are working on being even better people. But that's just us. I have two friends who are in marriages with alcoholics, and both are extremely unhappy because their spouses are in and out of jail, losing jobs, and very abusive when drunk, and they don't want to change. So these ladies have tough decisions to make about their futures.
Again, it depends on the people and the circumstances. Some can make it work, some can't. Either way, it's not easy.