A homewrecker is a person, object or activity that causes or comes close to causing the breakup of a marriage (or similar partnership). The homewrecker is said to have taken one of the spouses away from the marriage, thus "wrecking" the marital home. Less frequently, other intense and/or time-consuming pursuits of a partner lead to broken relationships and are labeled "homewreckers"; alcoholism, for example, has long been identified as a homewrecker. More common examples are drug addiction, gambling addiction and domestic violence.


