What is an Emotional Affair? Being unfaithful refers to some action or actions that violate the spoken and unspoken rules of a relationship, specifically by supplanting one partner for another.
Being emotionally unfaithful refers to having emotional experiences with a person outside of a committed relationship. This emotional connection would ideally only be experienced between those in that relationship.
To be emotionally connected, partners need to be able to rely on each other for emotional support. It is commonly understood between couples that there are limits to how much each person should emotionally confide outside of the relationship. This means maintaining emotional distance from others such as a close or platonic relationship.
It can be problematic when one partner begins to emotionally confide in and rely on a person outside of the relationship. This is particularly true when those same conversations and experiences are not shared between the couple. This is a sign of an emotional affair.
Learn more about infidelity here.