Alienation of affections is a legal term for convincing a wife to leave her husband, often for another man, causing the husband to lose conjugal relations. Alienation of affections was a civil wrong for which a deprived husband could sue the party convincing the wife to leave, but the right to sue has been abolished in almost all states. Hawaii, Illinois, North Carolina, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah are the only states that still recognize it as a cause of action as of this writing.
