You have to test it. Your spouse will pay more tax filing MFS than you would pay combined if you filed jointly. Whether that is worth the payments is something you will have to figure out.
Also, I don't know the current rules for income based repayment, but when you drop your payments for a year, if the interest keeps accruing, then you will have even more to pay off once your income goes back up. If you do decide to file MFS and drop your payments, I would still make an effort to pay as much as you can voluntarily to reduce your debt.
