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Brian Bercht cheated on his wife, Anne, 10 years ago. It was a full-blown affair, with clandestine lunch meetings and a growing emotional attachment to the other woman. It wasn’t that Brian didn’t love his wife of 18 years, he says. But he felt empty and vulnerable. And he was unprepared for the attraction he felt toward the co-worker who would become his lover. “I didn’t think it would ever happen to me,” he says.

For her part, Anne Bercht remembers the pain. She describes how she did not sleep or eat for months. “If we had been fighting, if we had had a bad sex life – if we had been struggling – maybe I would have been able to accept it,” she says. “But all of that increased my level of devastation and shock. I couldn’t think straight.” MORE

For couples with children, the risk of divorce is highest when kids are young. Taking care of little kids is both stressful and time-consuming, and parents often find they have little time or emotional reserve left over for their spouses. But once children hit their teen years and become more self-sufficient, parents get a break and the risk of divorce eases, studies have found.

So what happens to couples who have a child with an autism spectrum disorder? These kids require lots of attention even as they become teenagers and young adults. Potentially making matters worse, kids with an ASD typically have communication problems and engage in repetitive behaviors, which can add stress to an already taxing situation. Parents of autistic kids have been told that their risk for divorce is as high as 80%. MORE

Someone should tell Gov. Paterson he has not signed the no-fault divorce bill into law.

(I guess that would be us – CK.)

Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook confirmed that no action has been taken on the bill as of yet.

Asked about no-fault divorce by John Gambling on WOR-AM this morning, Paterson said: “We have it. It exists.”

Gambling: “You signed the bill?” MORE

WASHINGTON – Charlie Rangel finally dropped the hang-tough bluster Tuesday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled she wants the Harlem Dem to cut his losses.

He was forced to get down to serious political plea bargaining over how much blame he’ll accept to escape a public vetting of ethics charges against him.

The Daily News has learned Rangel began to change his mind Monday when he met with House ethics chairwoman Zoe Lofgren. Until then, he planned to fight on.

But with Pelosi pressing for a plea, Rangel cleared the way for lawyer Leslie Kiernan to begin serious talks toward a deal. MORE

President Obama has on lot on his plate – and a lot more gray on his pate.

The commander in chief turned 49 Wednesday, and the job’s stresses are evident in his tresses.

Obama only had to glance in the mirror to see the gray that’s rapidly spread across his head since he assumed office. And you better believe he’s been glancing. MORE