In 1879, determined to get rid of his wife, Grand Duke Nicholas expelled Alexandra from the Nicholas Palace, publicly accusing her of infidelity with her confessor, Vasily Lebedev.Galaktionova, A Life in Servitude, p. 46 Grand Duchess Alexandra, leaving behind her jewelry, clothes and possessions, had to move to her parents' house. The same year, Alexandra suffered a carriage accident which left her almost completely paralyzed. She could move neither her legs nor her right arm. Alexandra asked her brother-in-law, Tsar Alexander II, for help. Appalled by the scandal, Alexander II was not sympathetic towards Alexandra and instead made her leave Russia indefinitely to seek medical treatment abroad. Alexander II himself paid for the trip expenses.
