Spoil one short story of a spouse (7)

I believe the answer is:

marital

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'spoil one short story of a spouse' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'spoil one short story' is the wordplay.
'spoil' becomes 'mar' (synonyms).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'story' becomes 'tale' (synonyms).
'tale' with its final letter taken away is 'tal'.
'mar'+'i'+'tal'='MARITAL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for marital that I've seen before include "describing matrimony" , "This type of bliss" , "Of the nature of marriage" , "Ram tail (anag.)" , "Conjugal" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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