Wife leaves treacherous person to make a stand (5)
I believe the answer is:
easel
'a stand' is the definition.
(stand for an artist's canvas)
'wife leaves treacherous person' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'leaves' suggests deleting specific letters.
'treacherous person' becomes 'weasel' (weasel can mean a nasty or deceitful person).
'weasel' with 'w' removed is 'EASEL'.
'to make' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for easel that I've seen before include "Artist's canvas holder" , "stand for creativity" , "Picture frame" , "Artist's equipment" , "board support" .)