Husband or spouse.

[99bottles]

If in a text about a couple, I have used the words husband and wife many times, can I use the word spouse for the sake of variety? For instance...

She saw her spouse (husband) leaving.

Or is this a wrong way to use the word spouse?

 

[5jj]

If I wrote about them a lot, I would be far more likely to use the person's name than husband/wife/spouse/partner.

If you want to avoid the name for some reason, then husband or wife strikes me as far more natural than spouse.