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When your partner's real partner is work, here's what to do.

Sarah Morris Smith used to spend 70 hours a week selling Mary Kay cosmetics while her husband, John, a part-time sales associate at Walgreens, stayed home with their infant daughter. "He always did the housework and cooking," says Smith. "I'm sure he resented doing all those chores."

Smith admits that her workaholism ripped her marriage apart. She and John still live together, though they are legally separated. No longer with Mary Kay, Smith works well into the evenings as a recruiter for nSight, a business consultancy in Burlington, Mass.

"I think we might have had a chance if we had shared hobbies or scheduled time together, but I come home and monopolize the computer," says Smith. "Even down-time is work time. I'm giving him primary custody of our daughter because I know my work habits are not fair to her."

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Sarah and John's situation is all too common. Addiction to work is a marriage killer: Unions involving workaholics are twice as likely to end in divorce, according to a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. And for couples that choose to gut it out, the psychological toll can be devastating.

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- A judge cleared the way Wednesday for gay marriage in Connecticut, a victory for advocates stung by California's referendum that banned same-sex unions in that state.

Some couples planned to celebrate by immediately marching to New Haven City Hall to get marriage licenses. At least one ceremony was scheduled Wednesday morning on the New Haven green.

Some of the eight couples who successfully challenged a state law prohibiting gay marriages last month wept as Judge Jonathan Silbert entered his judgment, based on a state Supreme Court ruling.

The judge's order marks "the end of a very long journey toward equality," said their attorney, Bennett Klein.

"Each of the plaintiffs asked me to convey to the court how proud they are to be citizens of this state," Klein said.

"It's a great day for Connecticut," plaintiff Robin Levine-Ritterman said.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on October 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples.

Peg Oliveira, 36, a yoga teacher and educational consultant, and Jennifer Vickery, a 44-year-old lawyer, planned to wed on the New Haven green Wednesday. They have a 3-month-old baby.

"We're thrilled and we don't want to wait one minute," Oliveira said earlier. "I want to show the folks who worked so hard to make this possible that we are very grateful and we don't want to wait any longer to be able to say the words 'We are married."'

Manchester Town Clerk Joseph Camposeo, president of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association, said clerks were advised by e-mail shortly after 9:30 a.m. they could start issuing the licenses.

"The feedback I'm getting from other clerks is that we're all at the ready, but no one really has a sense yet of what kind of volume we're going to get," he said.

According to the state public health department, 2,032 civil union licenses were issued in Connecticut between October 2005 and July 2008.

The health department had new marriage applications printed that reflect the change. Instead of putting one name under "bride" and the other under "groom," couples will see two boxes marked "bride/groom/spouse."

Only Connecticut and Massachusetts have legalized gay marriage. The unions were legal in California until a statewide referendum to ban gay marriage narrowly passed last week. The vote has sparked protests and several lawsuits asking that state's Supreme Court to overturn the prohibition.

Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage also passed last week in Arizona and Florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents.

However, Connecticut voters last week rejected the idea of a constitutional convention to amend the state's constitution, a major blow to opponents of same-sex marriage.

The Family Institute of Connecticut, a political action group that opposes gay marriage, condemned the high court's decision as undemocratic. Peter Wolfgang, the group's executive director, acknowledged banning gay marriage in Connecticut would be difficult but vowed not to give up.

"Unlike California, we did not have a remedy," Wolfgang said. "It must be overturned with patience, determination and fortitude."

The state's 2005 civil union law will remain on the books, at least for now. Same-sex couples can continue to enter civil unions, which give them the same legal rights and privileges in Connecticut as married couples without the status of being married.

State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers will have to decide the fate of the civil union law.

"We'll definitely be taking this up," he said. The new legislative session opens in January.

(CNN) -- A ballot initiative to ban gay marriage in California appears headed for a narrow defeat, exit polls showed.

Proposition Eight, which would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California, was losing -- 53 percent to 47 percent, according to the polling. If it were to pass, it would undo a state Supreme Court ruling in May legalizing same-sex unions.

The projections in California differed from Arizona, where voters approved a measure to amend the state constitution so that only a union between one man and one woman would be recognized as a marriage, CNN projected.

The measure passed by 56 percent in a reversal of direction from 2006, when a similar measure on the ballot failed.

Arizona, California and Florida were the only states to weigh constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions, down from 11 states in the 2004 election. Results are still pending in Florida.

The projected results were just some of the hot-button issues in an election where ballot measures were dominated by social issues from abortion and affirmative action to suicide and drug policy.

As of 1:30 a.m. ET, CNN had projected results on most major initiatives, based on actual results and exit poll data from key areas.

Fifty-seven percent of voters in Arkansas supported a measure to prohibit unmarried sexual partners from adopting children or from serving as foster parents. The measure specifies that the prohibition applies to both opposite-sex as well as same-sex couples.

Voters in Colorado rejected a measure defining a person to "include any human being from the moment of fertilization," which would have applied to sections of the Colorado Constitution that protect "natural and essential rights of persons."

Nebraska voters approved a measure to prohibit state governments from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to people based on race, ethnicity, color, sex or national origin. Results on a similar measure in Colorado have not been announced.

Michigan chose to become the 13th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes by a 64 percent margin. Massachusetts also had a proposed initiative to decriminalize penalties for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Voters in Michigan also chose to amend the state constitution to permit human embryonic stem cell research with certain restrictions. The embryos, which must have been created for fertility treatment purposes, would have to have been discarded otherwise, and they may not be used more than 14 days after cell division has begun.

South Dakota rejected a proposal to prohibit abortions except in cases of rape or incest or where the mother's life or health is at risk. A similar measure that did not include exceptions for rape or the health of the mother was on the ballot in 2006, but voters rejected it 44 to 56 percent

Results are still pending for California's Proposition 4, which requires physicians to provide parental notification to guardians of minors at least 48 hours before performing an abortion.iReport.com: Watch Prop 8 debate in Utah

In Washington, 58 percent of voters supported a citizen initiative to allow adults with six months or less to live to request lethal medication prescribed by a physician. A physician is not required to comply, but anyone participating "in good faith" with the request would not risk criminal prosecution.

Many states also weighed budget-related proposals that could significantly affect how state revenues are generated.

In Massachusetts, voters have rejected a measure to cut the state personal income tax rate in half for 2009 and eliminate the state personal income tax starting in 2010. A similar ballot measure failed in 2002.

A citizen-initiated measure in North Dakota also proposed cutting personal income tax rates by half. Voters in Colorado and Minnesota were asked to consider increasing sales taxes. Oregon's Measure 59 would allow taxpayers to deduct the full amount of their federal income taxes on their state income tax returns.

Voters in eight states considered proposals related to gambling and lotteries, including Maryland, where current law prohibits the operation of commercial slot machines. Voters approved a constitutional amendment to authorize the use of video lottery terminals, or slot machines, at certain locations in the state, to fund public education.

Californians could face jail time if voters approve Proposition 2, which outlaws the confinement of pregnant pigs, calves raised for veal, and egg-laying hens "in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely."