I do believe that desparate might not be the best adjective for this:

An Oklahoma man desperate to save his marriage by appearing like a hero to his wife ended up in police custody on suspicion of staging a crime. He hired "burglars" and foiled their fake robbery attempt, police said on Friday.

I might have chosen 'unstable' or 'unbalanced' or perhaps even 'stupid'. The guy spent $200 to stage a robbery, terrify his wife and attempt to make himself look good in her eyes. Why not spend that money and a little time and try spending time with her and/or a little marriage counseling?

The irony is that his scheme might have worked - if he hadn't married Houdini:

According to police, Spencer, a high school teacher, paid two students $100 each to break into his house and try to make off with a stereo.

The masked students tied his wife with duct tape and her husband was in the house just in time to foil the supposed crime, police said.

Police said Spencer attacked the two in a choreographed fight, even hitting one with a board that he had cut to break in half. The plan was going well until his wife freed herself and called police, something Spencer did not anticipate, police said.

His wife is compentent enough to escape duct tape; I hope she is also competent enough to see her husband's flawed understanding of how relationships work.