Outside the context, doesn't it read ambiguous?Tom would have liked to talk to Jack before he left for Spain, but his wife didn't let him do it.
So, how can it be rewritten to leave no questions about (1) who was leaving for Spain, (2) whose wife didn't let (3) whom to talk (4) to whom?
Before he left for Spain, Tom would have liked to talk to Jack, but his wife didn't let him do it.
To me, these sentences don't seem to be solving the problem of identifying the one married to the woman.Before Tom left for Spain, Jack would have liked to talk to him, but his wife didn't let him do it .
Besides, it's also still unclear who wasn't allowed to talk to the other.
That said, I don't see any other way of putting it than using a possessive form of the men's names.
Before he left for Spain, Tom would have liked to talk to Jack, but Tom's wife didn't let him do it.
But again, the question of who's the one she didn't allow to talk to the other, would remain unanswered unless I made "him" "her husband".Before Tom left for Spain, Jack would have liked to talk to him, but Jack's wife didn't let him do it .
Before he left for Spain, Tom would have liked to talk to Jack, but Tom's wife didn't let her husband do it.
Or are there other, better ways of putting it?Before Tom left for Spain, Jack would have liked to talk to him, but Jack's wife didn't let her husband do it.