Veronica Lario's decision to publicly scold her husband Silvio Berlusconi for his roving eye was ill judged, most Italians appear to think.
According to a poll issued on Thursday by research group Ipr Marketing, only 33% think it was a good idea for Lario to air her grievances in a letter to Italian daily La Repubblica.
For 55% of respondents, Lario was wrong to go public while 12% said they had no opinion on the issue.
Lario's actions won more support among women, with 37% saying they approved compared to 29% of men.
More than 30% said they thought Lario's decision was politically motivated.
The public spat between Lario and Berlusconi held the country in thrall on Wednesday, as well as making headlines around the world.
British daily The Times even carried a spoof letter from the former premier to his wife.
Lario, an ex-actress who goes by her stage name and has been married to the centre-right leader for 27 years, stunned Italians by discarding her famed reserve and demanding a public apology from her husband for belittling her with his flirting.
In her letter published on the front-page of La Repubblica, Lario referred to comments Berlusconi reportedly made to several young and glamourous showgirls during a gala dinner given after a top TV award ceremony last week.
"My husband made remarks I find unacceptable: 'If I weren't already married, I'd marry you straight away' and 'I'd go anywhere with you'.
"These statements undermine my dignity and, given the age, political role and family situation of the person who said them, cannot be written off as playful comments," Lario said in the letter, which was all the more embarrassing for Berlusconi since it appeared in the country's leading left-wing daily.
Within hours, Berlusconi had duly apologised with another letter faxed to Italian media organisations.
"I treasure your dignity in my heart even when a lighthearted joke, a gallant remark or a momentary trifle comes out of my mouth.
"I beg you to forgive me," said the billionaire media tycoon, who admitted that his marriage was undergoing a period of "trouble and turbulence" but told his wife that it was "sure to end in sweetness, like all true love stories".
Born Miriam Raffaela Bartolini, Lario is Berlusconi's second wife and, at 50, is 20 years his junior.
Berlusconi left his first wife for Lario, smitten after seeing her perform topless in a Milan play called The Magnificent Cuckold about a philandering husband.
They have three children: two daughters, aged 22 and 20, and a son, aged 18.
Despite being the wife of one of Italy's best-known public figures, Lario has always kept a very low profile.
She said in her letter that she did not like breaking this "reserve" and was doing so partly to protect her dignity as a woman but also to set an example for her children.
The youthful-looking Berlusconi, who has admitted to a face lift and a hair transplant, has always cultivated a playboy image and been linked by the gutter press to a string of young and beautiful women.
The recipients of his reported admiration at the gala dinner were Venezuelan model and showgirl Aida Yespica and Mara Carfagna, an ex-showgirl whom he made an MP with his Forza Italia party.
Lario's open criticism of her husband's behaviour sparked a political debate, with many centre-left and opposition women lawmakers defending her.
Most male politicians took a different view, saying that Lario should have kept her grievances private.
The case dominated the Italian media, with TV current affairs shows ditching their scheduled programmes to cover it.
Even the Church weighed in, with Cardinal Ersilio Tonini saying that Lario's letter had "stirred my heart".
It is not the first time that Berlusconi's comments about women have landed him in trouble.
He sparked tensions with Finland in 2005 by saying he used "playboy tactics" on Finnish President Tarja Halonen to persuade her to make Italy the site of an EU food agency.
On another occasion, Berlusconi astonished American journalists by urging Wall Street businessmen to invest in Italy because the country had "gorgeous secretaries".
