An ex officer colleague of mine in RAFG left his wife for another woman. Although they had been married for quite some years, she told my wife that she'd never had any idea about how much he was being paid because all his salary went into his own bank account and from that he gave her an allowance. When he left her living alone in the MQ to live "elsewhere", he insisted that she attended any squadron or station function with him, so as to hide the fact. He stopped her allowance so in effect she was instantly penniless. She eventually had to return to UK because in legal terms she lost her right to live in the MQ and the country. She was homeless on arrival in UK.
It's true to say that said officer caused quite a lot of angst amongst other wives because they could instantly see in what a precarious situation they could potentially be placed by their own husband and apparently without any sanction. He didn't make himself very popular amongst his fellow squadron members when the truth eventually came out.