Matrimony

[Introduction]
This is less analysis and more conjecture, based on my thoughts about exactly what Jecht's marriage appears to be. Like I said, it's mostly my opinions, based on the scant evidence from the game.

[Celebrity]
It's obvious that Jecht was a very famous little ball player in his own Zanarkand, so much so that ten years later, he's still remembered as the greatest. Jecht is about 35 years old when he disappears and he would have been about 28 when Tidus was born; if Tidus is any indication, blitzball players can become stars as early as 16 years of age. Add to this the talk of Jecht being old and washed up, ready for retirment, I'd say it's a fair estimation that Jecht was famous long before he married his wife. Rather possible that she was one of his 'adoring fans,' like the ones which accost Tidus at the game's onset. If this was the case, it might explain the wife's near hearo-worship of her husband.

[Hers]
It's made very apparent that the wife loved Jecht. In fact, if Tidus' memories are correct, she died from a broken heart when he left her, having 'died.' And in the few scenes where they are seen to interact, he is *the* most important thing to her, even ranking above her own son. That says a lot in my mind about how much she must have loved Jecht. In the English version of the game, Tidus says that his mother was like a lovebird who had lost her mate and, with Jecht gone, she had lost her will to live.

[His]
While it does seem that he loved her, Jecht did not seem to be fulfill his half of the "lovebird" allegory. He mentions her many times while he travels with Braska and Auron, but never to the degree that he does Tidus nor to the degree that the wife seems to worry about him. Perhaps it is as simple as Jecht not being selfless enough to love her as much as she loved him; or maybe he was simply stronger than her. The fact remains that the separation from her did not cause him to die from a broken heart. Unless, you count sacrificing yourself to become the fayth as a conscious form of suicide when he realized that he would not make it back.

[Conclusion]
The conclusion to all this rambling and speculation? Jecht's wife loved him to the point of exclusivity, in a manner so deep that she preferred death to living without him, at least on a sub-conscious level. Jecht, although he looks as if he cared about her and had a happy home life, did not die without her. I think Jecht was stronger than her and more independent which allowed him to live on away from Zanarkand and his family.

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