Is an emotional affair just as bad as a physical affair?
Emotional affair? I understand what a physical affair is: kissing, rubbing, touching, sex. An affair. But what do you mean by emotional affair? Do you mean there is NO kissing, NO rubbing, NO touching, NO sex? Is it just flirting, banter, laughter, confiding, texting & emojis? If so, that is just called friendship. Unless…
This friendship is a secret kept from your partner, their partner or both; your intentions extended to getting physical; there is a shared longing & desire between you two; nudes are requested & sent; you are each other’s “go to” instead of your partners. If this is the emotional affair you are referring to then my question to you is: Which affair would hurt your partner more if they found out?
There are some people who will give a few cheating passes or turn the blind eye if they suspect a bit of creeping. But I will say that almost everyone is totally devastated to know their partner has an ongoing, secret, love of their life that they’re not even physical with. So I would venture to say an emotional affair might be worse in some ways. It seems harmless because it’s just virtual or non-physical but in actuality the time & emotions invested into that relationship may take away time & emotion from the “real” relationship. With physical cheating it can be a “wam-bam-thank you m’am”, with emotional cheating it’s “no you hang up, no you, no you hang up, ok same time…you didn’t hang up! Neither did you!” two hours later someone missed dinner and is listening to how you felt at 7 years old when your parents split up! You see the difference there?
I know the common excuse is that there is a void in the relationship to make someone want to cheat physically or emotionally. The truth is people aren’t filling a void, they’re doing what the hell they want to do and if it’s cheating and getting away with it then that’s what we do. No one should sit on a high horse for not getting physical. If you’re doing something that doesn’t make your feel good then don’t do it; if you’re doing something that you want to continue doing, then do it!
Plain & simple, just don’t get caught!
