Why Pushkin left his wife after their wedding night

"The night before the wedding, Pushkin threw a bachelor party. Ten of his closest friends were there, but he was far from cheerful and drank heavily. Everyone had the impression he was attending a funeral. The next day at the wedding, the poet was very cheerful and seemed happy. During the ceremony, Pushkin's ring fell off, and then a candle accidentally went out. He turned pale and said, 'All these are bad omens,'" recounted Professor Vikenty Veresaev about the wedding.

The morning after their wedding night, the poet's friends came to the Pushkins' new apartment on Arbat Street. Pushkin became incredibly engrossed in conversation with them, leaving his young 18-year-old wife in the bedroom. For Natalya, who had only moved into a new house the day before, this came as a shock.

Princess Vera Vyazemskaya recalled, quoting Goncharova: "...on the very first day of their marriage, as soon as her husband got out of bed, he didn’t see her again. Some friends came to visit him, with whom he became so engrossed in conversation that he forgot all about his wife and only came to her for dinner. She found herself alone in a strange house and burst into tears."

And the marriage was not without its problems. Pushkin loved his wife, as is evident from his letters, but he was always infatuated with someone and he could never pass a pretty woman by indifferently.