re: How do people cope with separation or divorce?

Divorce is different for different situations.
When my first wife and I divorced, it was a huge emotional burden off of me. I had a lot of responsibilities ahead of me but they were minuscule compared to dealing with a dishonest cheating narcissist who had no cares for anyone other than herself.
Many years later, I have been in a wonderful marriage for for several decades. The first wife is in a really bad place.
Bottom line, take things one at a time. For goodness sake don’t jump back into another serious relationship and of course, if there are children involved, make them a priority.
Always be the adult in the room.