... trial court mistakenly construed the bed and board divorce statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:34-6, as requiring that, upon the grant of an absolute divorce ... plaintiff contended that an award should be retroactive. Nonetheless, construing N.J.S.A. 2A:34-6, the trial judge held that "by operation of law, the ... a judgment of absolute divorce or dissolution had been entered. [ N.J.S.A. 2A:34-6.] As we indicated in Muller , supra , N.J.S. 2A ... In light of its purpose, as well as its wording, N.J.S.A. 2A:34-6 does not mandate that an award of alimony, entered years ...