7 EMOTIONAL CHEATING EXAMPLES IN 2023
1. You talk about things you wouldn’t talk to your spouse about.
If this is the case, you have to consider why it’s occurring. Have you lost touch with your partner, and you no longer talk to them about much at all?
Or are there things that you are uncomfortable talking to your partner about? How is talking to this friend different from talking to your partner?
2. You hide the connection in an emotional affair.
If your partner doesn’t know that this other person exists or doesn’t know the extent of the relationship and you are actively hiding it, it’s clear that the relationship is inappropriate.
You and your partner shouldn’t have secrets from one another. If the secret involves long, intimate conversations with someone you find attractive, you are squarely involved in an emotional affair.
3. You change your schedule to see this person.
You know you’ll run into a certain person at work around 2:00, so you schedule all of your meetings so you are free at that time.
Or this person mentions he or she will be shopping at the mall on Tuesday morning, and you make a point to pick up a few items at the mall at the same time.
Finding ways to maneuver a “chance encounter” is definitely a red flag that you are becoming too invested in this person.
4. You talk trash about your partner in an emotional affair.
If you speak negatively about your partner to someone else, and they offer a listening ear, it is crossing the line of respect in your relationship.
You may be trying to send the signal that you’d like to be out of your marriage or relationship, and you want to see how the other person reacts.
Or the other person might be fishing to see if you have any fissures in your committed relationship that suggest you are unhappy.
5. You tell yourself that you’re “just friends.”
If you have to tell yourself this, you are already in trouble. You are trying to rationalize the relationship that you have with this other person.
These dangerous words in your head are your way of convincing yourself that you’re not doing anything wrong when you already know you are.
6. You think about the other person a lot.
Do you find yourself constantly thinking about this other person — the way you might have when you first met your spouse?
Have you ventured into inappropriate fantasies or “what if” scenarios about a future with this person?
If your spouse or partner could see your thoughts, and you know he or she would be devastated, then it’s clear you are betraying your partner’s trust.
7. You text “good morning” and/or “goodnight.”
There is really only one person that you need to acknowledge at the beginning and end of the day and that’s your partner.
If the first person you think about when you wake up is someone else, and you text that person to let him or her know that you’re crossing a line.
