Is spousal support a payoff from the husband to the wife in order to get out of a marriage?

At one time, the purpose of alimony was to punish the husband for leaving his wife without a good cause. With the recent rise in no-fault divorce, this purpose of punishment became moot. As stated above, the main purpose of spousal support today is to maintain a certain standard of living for a divorced spouse who is not capable of attaining employment which would suffice in maintaining that standard living.