Something similar happened to an old friend of mine, after having a kid something changed with the wife and she became "Mom" and stopped doing anything relationship wise. Unfortunately it led to their divorce.

Edit: Maybe suggest that she talk with a therapist alone to sort out her feelings.

Removing it might also affect your resale value, just something to think about.

There won't be any issues doing that.

Make sure you pre-drill the holes to prevent cracking.

And the quality of the cable as well.

Have you thought about using Formica? might be a good way to keep the uniformity and protect the bar surface as well.