How to treat your muse.

Picasso seems to have had seven significant muses in his life, the majority of whom came to a sticky end.
It is sometimes overlooked that his last wife had him exclusively for the best part of forty years.
She did however, kill herself after his death.
Would contemporary society tolerate a Damien Hurst blatantly engaging in an affair with another woman, if his partner was dying of consumption?
In our PC world a Tracey Emin would surely be lauded for keeping a boyfriend on a lead.