Is an Emotional Affair Cheating? Poll
An "emotional affair" is an affair, which excludes physical intimacy but includes emotional intimacy and can begin as innocently as a friendship. It may also be called an affair of the heart. Where one partner is in a committed monogamous relationship, an emotional affair is a type of chaste nonmonogamy without consummation. When the affair breaches an agreement in the monogamous relationship of one of the partners to the affair, the term infidelity may be more apt.
What do you think about emotional affairs? Is an emotional affair cheating?
An emotional affair is defined as any infidelity that occurs through feeling or thought. With the technological development of cell phones and the internet, the definition of cheating has been expanded to include the traditional definition, plus the feelings and/or thoughts that comprise emotional infidelity.
. Cheating now includes having intimate correspondence with someone while on a cell phone, meeting someone over the Internet and maintaining a close, personal relationship with someone other than your spouse.
Some argue that an emotional affair is harmless because it is more of a casual relationship than traditional cheating; however, the intimate nature of the communication, plus the emotional investment made by the people involved, places an emotional affair on the same level or worse as traditional cheating.
It is much more dangerous for a marriage should your spouse connect with someone emotionally than physically. Anyone who finds himself or herself drawn to another person on an emotional level should consider the possible consequences of such an affair. Emotional affairs are just as likely to lead to divorce and physical affairs.
While it is healthy and normal for people to have friendships outside the marriage with men and women, an emotional affair threatens the emotional bond between spouses. Friendships are based on attraction, in that we are drawn to various qualities of our friends.
Healthy friendships and attractions don't need to threaten a marriage at all, but add richness and enjoyment to life. When an attraction turns into an obsession or into an affair, it can become harmful to everyone involved and nothing is more harmful to a marriage than the breakdown of the emotional bond marital partners have for each other.
Physical attraction is common place, especially where men are concerned. How many times has a wife or girlfriend caught a boyfriend or husband giving another woman a second look? Probably too many to count.
That type of attraction means very little. It's fleeting. As soon as the woman is out of sight, men are onto something else. This is not the case with an emotional attraction. In order to be attracted to someone emotionally, it requires that a bond be established, it's deeper than physical attraction and it does not go away because the other person is not around. It is dangerous. It comes about slowly, and those involved often don't realize what's happened to them until they are so involved it's too late to stop it.
That type of attraction means very little. It's fleeting. As soon as the woman is out of sight, men are onto something else. This is not the case with an emotional attraction. In order to be attracted to someone emotionally, it requires that a bond be established, it's deeper than physical attraction and it does not go away because the other person is not around. It is dangerous. It comes about slowly, and those involved often don't realize what's happened to them until they are so involved it's too late to stop it.
You think to yourself or tell others that you are just friends. You daydream about the other person. You really look forward to seeing the other person. You want to tell them your important news before anyone else (including your spouse or partner).
You share intimate emotions (sadness, happiness, etc.) with that person. You share intimate details of problems in your marriage. You start believing the other person understands you better than your spouse or partner You start keeping secrets from your spouse and covering things up.
You share intimate emotions (sadness, happiness, etc.) with that person. You share intimate details of problems in your marriage. You start believing the other person understands you better than your spouse or partner You start keeping secrets from your spouse and covering things up.
Realize that no marriage is affair proof. Admit your attraction to someone else to yourself and your spouse right away. Honesty keeps the relationship from becoming an affair because it's now up for viewing. Put yourself in your spouse's place. How would you feel if your spouse is doing what you are doing?
Emotional affairs, extramarital affairs, physical or emotional “involvement” with someone other than your spouse… it all adds up to one and the same. There are no excuses we can tell ourselves or others that justify that kind of behavior in marriages or committed relationships.
When it comes to being a willing participant in this kind of activity, it should be perceived as a wakeup call. A dangerous, life altering nudge that is telling us that something is amiss in our marriage and we would be wise to heed its warning and use it to get back on track. The majority of relationships spawned by such affairs do not last, yet the scars left by emotional infidelity can last just as long as the scars of a full-blown extramarital affair.
In regards to an Emotional Affair, If there is no sexual contact, is it still considered cheating? Wife says it's only cheating if sex had occured. I say lying and misleading about the affair is cheating.
I agree with you, cheaters will play word games to lessen or justify what they are doing. What she is doing is cheating you of your marital rights, to be faithful, to love, to honor. She is not giving your marriage, your life, 100% of her attention. And trust me on this, the physical part isn't far behind the emotional part when it comes to affairs, one just leads to the other.
I don't think we need to tell you. You know it's cheating. There will be no way to convince her of it though. Just as if she had a PA, she would blame shift so that it was your fault. The fact is, her saying that cheapens your marriage and her love for you. Basically saying that your pain over this is not important enough for her to be concerned with.
I wouldn't call it cheating...but its pushing it. There is definitely broken trust involved and a lot of lying and creeping behind your back sorta thing. If its cheating, then my wife has cheated on me countless times....
Either way, you should have 0 trust for her and she needs to take responsibility for what she does (i.e. break up with you or try to fix this). There's not much YOU can do really except take responsibility for what your needs are (i.e. breaking up or letting her know you are willing to work with her).
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