The marriage,however,was not to be a happy one."My heart predicted nothing agreeable;only ambition sustained me,"she later wrote. Catherine (who changed her name after joining the Russian church)was constantly ignored by her husband, and their relationship grew distant. She wrote of her loneliness and sense of isolation:"Had it been my fate to have a husband whom I could love, I would never have changed toards him." Instead, Peter cared little for her and insulted her whenever he could. To flee such treatment,Catherine would go riding in the country,sometimes for 13 hours a day. "The more violent this exerise was," she admitted, "the more I love it.