{"id":36778,"date":"2019-04-17T09:41:49","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T09:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/?p=36778"},"modified":"2025-12-09T06:57:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T06:57:48","slug":"stages-of-emotional-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/infidelity\/stages-of-emotional-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Stages of Emotional Affairs and How to Recover From It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Dissapointed<\/p>\n

If you are wondering <\/span>what an emotional affair is<\/b>, you are not alone. While sexual infidelity is easier to define, what constitutes an emotional affair can be very confusing at times. <\/span><\/p>\n

Also, in this day and age of Tinder and various social media platforms, a person can stay locked in quarantine and still <\/span>establish intimate relationships<\/span><\/a> with people anywhere in the world. What are the stages of emotional affairs, and how to deal with them?<\/span><\/p>\n

That may include you or your partner.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how can you define an emotional affair? Plainly said, it’s when a committed person establishes a relationship with someone else on an emotional level. They’ve built this connection to the point of attraction, or even love.<\/span><\/p>\n

45% of men and 35% of women<\/span><\/a> admit to emotional infidelity; the numbers are 20% higher than physical affairs. The question is, when does it cross the line of friendship to become an affair?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Emotional cheating: Where do you draw the line?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Sad<\/p>\n

What’s an emotional affair?<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone knows that once a committed person gets sexually involved with someone else other than their partner, it doesn’t matter if it’s with someone they barely know, have known for a long time or even a sex worker – that is cheating.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what about an emotional affair?<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do we draw the line between cheating and socializing? What are the different levels of emotional affairs?<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s a thin line. It wouldn’t be healthy to prevent your partner from interacting with anyone because of a <\/span>risk of infidelity<\/span><\/a>. But there are times when the “Harry met Sally rule” takes over, the bond of friendship goes a bit further and turns into an emotional affair.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emotional infidelity is when you have deep feelings for someone other than your partner, and you indulge in deliberate acts to develop it.<\/span><\/p>\n

How you feel about someone is sometimes uncontrollable; it is a deep-seated instinct in our soul and psyche.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is especially true if the person is kind to you. But what you do with those feelings is something you can control. Actions that would develop those feelings further is emotional cheating.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Reasons for emotional affairs<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n