Date: 24 Jul, 2022
Cheating is termed as one person in a relationship having sexual relations with someone other than their partner. However, with the advancement of technology such as cell phones and the internet, the definition of cheating has been expanded to include the traditional definition as well as the feelings and/or thoughts that constitute emotional infidelity. Cheating now includes having an intimate phone conversation with someone. Also, meeting someone on the internet or at work, and maintaining a close emotional connection with someone other than your partner.
What Is Emotional Cheating?
In emotional cheating, one partner shares emotional intimacy and connection with someone other than their partner. This connection crosses the line between a healthy platonic relationship and a breach of trust within the primary relationship.
With such an expansive depiction, it can be challenging to identify what exactly emotional unfaithfulness entails. So we’ve outlined some red flags to look out for as well as discussed the risks it poses to a romantic relationship.
Emotional Affairs vs. Physical Affairs
The primary distinction between a physical and an emotional affair is physical contact. Cheating usually entails people meeting face to face and then engaging in physical sex.
There may be a meeting with an emotional affair. But it could be on a cell phone, a computer, or on a lunch date with someone other than a partner. Many people who are emotionally cheating do not regard it as infidelity. Because there is no actual physical contact, they believe the behavior cannot be considered cheating.
Ishita, for example, reconnected with Manav, an old high school boyfriend, via Facebook. The two began messaging each other and soon began sharing intimate details about their marital problems. Because of their mutual support, they formed an emotional attachment as a result of their sharing.
Ishita and Manav soon find themselves reliving their old courtship and wondering why they ever split up because they have so much “in common.” They long to see each other and rekindle the feelings they had as teenagers. Soon, both are expressing their feelings for the other.
That’s all there is to it. Ishita and Manav aren’t cheating in the traditional sense, but they’ve developed an emotional bond and are having an emotional affair.
The Signs of an Emotional Affair
The exchange of personal information is the start of an emotional affair. As the people involved get to know each other better, the information becomes more personal, and things begin to snowball from there.
Nonsexual intimacy such as consistently turning to the third party for comfort or connection instead of the primary partner, and oversharing inappropriate details about the primary relationship with the third party. Making comparisons between the immediate match and the third party becomes defensive of the secondary relationship with others. And feeling the need to be secretive about the secondary relationship are all signs of emotional cheating.
Furthermore, if your interactions with the third party cause you to lose interest in being emotionally or physically intimate with your partner. Or contribute to a lack of desire to spend time with them, you should be concerned. Sexual attraction can be a sign of an emotional affair, but it is not required.
These are just a few indicators of an emotional affair, but the lines can often be blurred and vary depending on who is involved. Personal feelings and intuitions are frequently excellent litmus tests. If either partner believes that a bond with someone outside of the primary relationship is eroding or undermining the primary relationship, it most likely is.
Consequences of an Emotional Affair
Some argue that an emotional affair is safer than traditional cheating because it is a more casual relationship. However, because of the intimate nature of the communication, as well as the emotional investment made by the people involved, an emotional affair is on par with, if not worse than, traditional cheating.
Having friendships outside of marriage is healthy and normal. An emotional affair endangers the vibrant bond between partners and induces a disconnect. Friendships are based on attraction in the sense that we are drawn to different qualities in our friends. But healthy friendships do not jeopardize a relationship. Rather, they enhance the richness and enjoyment of life. When an attraction becomes an obsession or an affair, it can be harmful to everyone involved. And nothing is more damaging to a relationship than the breakdown of the emotional bond that romantic partners share.
In other words, an inappropriate emotional connection can be as damaging to a relationship as a physical affair. Emotional affairs are just as likely as physical affairs to lead to divorce or breakup as they are to lead to physical affairs.
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