I do not think that she did not love her husband. The affair he had on the side with Dolgorukaya hurt her very much and his children were all very upset at him. I personally think as life goes, in so many marriages especially today, when husbands reach a "certain" age, many (not all) get this wanderlust... How the heck can Maria Alexandrovna compete with a young girl, bearing in mind the health problems she had. I personally think her husband is also to blame for her failing health in a psychosomatic sort of way. She is one of my favourite members of the Imperial Family, on whose sarcophagus I have twice went and laid peonies. This is a woman of great depth, wisdom and character.