The famous people I am aware of that thanked their wives for their support are almost in every case a 2nd, 3rd or 4th wife of just a few years .. married after their husbands were famous and wealthy .. and ready to change. I have always felt that if this current new wife had instead been the "first" wife and endured years of broken promises and misery, most likely she too would have divorced this man. I have always gotten the impression that these famous men were at a point in their lives where they were finally ready to change and that the current wife just happened to be in the right place at the right time ... before years of anger and resentment built up .. when the husband was ready to seriously commit to sobriety ..after all, we can't make them change can we ..they have to want to change. Nearly every "wife" at the beginning of a marriage is deeply commited to supporting her husband in seeking a sober life and endures endless broken promises and heartache for years and years before finally moving on. I personally can't think of single famous person that has publically thanked their spouse for support that had been married for many years - I am sure there are some .. I am only aware spouses that were so supportive after knowing this "famous" person just a few years. In fact we had a very famous broadcaster & his new wife living in our own neighborhood a few years ago ... this couple had been in the paper often dealing with how he had finally turned his life around after decades of alcoholism and how much he appreciated his new wife's support. The truth was that he was already in the process of turning his life around when he met his much younger wife. I am sure that she was in awe of his prestige and wealth and more that willing to overlook a few bumpy years until he finally achieved lasting sobriety. The new wife has since been featured several times in our local paper about the dealing with the difficult "challenges" of decorating the huge mansion that his wealth provided for her. Hardly the same as the true challenges his previous wife endured with years of pain and sorrow ... and no matter what she did or how much she yearned and ached for a sober husband ...he was not ready to get sober - not for many years later after they divorced and he was near retirement. Ultimately it was only when he was finally ready to get sober and just happened to meet this new "supportive" wife .. who was just lucky enough to marry him at the right time in his life. These are just situations I have observed .. I am sure there are exceptions.