The simple answer is no, not anymore. Back in the day there used to be grounds for divorce that had to be proven by the party alleging them. You could get divorced based on things such as adultery, abandonment and cruel and unusual punishment if you had evidence to prove such. As bad as these things are and certainly are not accepted by society, the court in New York State only focuses on the breakdown of the marriage. If one of the spouses say the marriage has irretrievably broken down in the past 6 months, the judge will allow the divorce proceedings to begin. This ground for divorce makes the start of the process a little bit easier and smoother.
Understandably so, some people can’t grasp the fact that the court will not entertain adultery or abandonment however after all these years the court system has realized how much time, energy and money could be wasted fighting over such things. If one spouse wants a divorce that is good enough evidence to the court that the relationship has broken down. This change in the court’s outlook has undoubtedly reduced legal fees and the total amount of time before your divorce is finalized.