However, if the conduct is such that it affects and endangers the mental or physical health of the divorce-seeking spouse, it may be sufficient to establish grounds for divorce. Cruelty constitutes the basis for a divorce from bed and board and can be filed immediately after the parties separate. If the husband and wife have entered into a Property Settlement or Separation Agreement and there are no minor children, the time period is reduced from one year to six months. The evidence must be strict, satisfactory and conclusive that the other spouse did in fact engage in sexual relations with another person. In fact, most cases of adultery are proven without eyewitness testimony by using other evidence of the circumstances involved.
Sodomy is a sexual act, other than intercourse, such as oral or anal sex.
To be grounds for divorce, it must be committed with someone outside the marriage. Buggery is bestiality or a sexual act against nature. The standard of proof for these grounds is the same as that for adultery. If the guilty spouse can successfully establish any one of these defenses, then a divorce will not be awarded on these grounds. The innocent spouse has actively encouraged or facilitated the other spouse in committing the adultery, sodomy or buggery.