While I don't disagree with you on that, he didn't "ditch" them in the ......I don't want to say 'traditional', not the right word......usual maybe.... sense of the word.  His ex-wife Sandy lives in a house on the ranch he and Trisha have and my understanding is that as far as amicable divorces go, theirs was about as much so as is possible.  I've said it a hundred times since he first hit in the business and I said it more than once watching the special last nite.....the guy is a marketing genius.  Say what you will about him and his music, he has marketed himself and his brand to the nth degree over the years, and it's worked out very well for him and the people who depend on him for a living.  Sandy and the girls included.