We know from House (and Cuddy kind of confirmed this) that she broke his heart, but surely she didn't "devour his tender flesh and crunch his bones", by washing his shirts improperly and putting the milk in the wrong place??? She's competitive, Wilson tells us, and she took him for granted by taking an unpaid internship when he was financially stressed, and she's said herself that she made most of the mistakes in that marriage -- but didn't Wilson confess to infidelity when he was talking to Cameron about cheating on his "wives", plural, back in season one? What's a bigger mistake, more damaging, than cheating? We don't know the whole backstory with Sam but apparently Wilson was broken up over the divorce. I wonder if that was when he first met House in New Orleans? Sam was his first wife. But trying to figure out the House timeline can be a headache. I don't know if Wilson cheated on Sam - I suspect he cheated on all his wives. But as far as what's a bigger mistake and more damaging than cheating, it's such a personal question. To some people, if the cheating's strictly physical, a drunk mistake after a party, it's not a huge deal, not the same as an affair with emotional involvement. To other people, it's the worst betrayal. However I do know that financial strain can wreak havoc on a relationship. If one person has to completely support the other, it can be quite taxing and stressful. Wilson is too much of a pushover; he shouldn't have agreed to work two jobs while Sam took an unpaid internship. He might have started to resent her for not contributing to household expenses. We just don't know enough about their relationship to know what was so disastrous.

I wonder if that was when he first met House in New Orleans? Sam was his first wife. But trying to figure out the House timeline can be a headache. Yep. In Birthmarks, they establish that Wilson was carrying his divorce papers from his first wife when he met House in New Orleans.

Thanks. I am writing a fic describing House and Wilson's first meeting (although I've already done so but I have to retcon that when it was revealed they met in New Orleans), and I was going to include the scene where he gets served with papers. His wife's lawyer served them, if I recall, and that seemed to hurt Wilson more than if Sam had done so herself.

Yes, that was addressed in one of the episodes, Wilson saying she didn't have the decency (paraphrasing) to do it in person.

Birthmarks - when Wilson gets arrested for speeding, they tell the sheriff all about how they met at the conference in New Orleans. ETA: Ooops. It's from Open and Shut when Wilson goes all OCD on Sam. So I'm getting a lecture on communication from someone who had her lawyer inform me our marriage was over.

Thanks for the clarification about Wilson's divorce. That will be useful if I ever finish writing my second take on House and Wilson's first meeting.