The internet has allowed many people to live hidden lives with anonymous identities, which is a fertile breeding ground for emotional affairs. But how bad is emotional cheating? It honestly varies with different people’s attitudes. Some people are relieved it’s not a physical affair and don’t really count it as cheating. Others are far more devastated at emotional infidelity than a physical affair.
How bad is emotional cheating? Well, how important is love to you? What bothers most people about emotional affairs is that there is intimacy, friendship, an emotional connection, and maybe even love in the affair, all of which is supposed to be reserved for your partner alone. People in relationships are more than lovers, they are best friends and sources of emotional comfort far deeper than a platonic friendship level. It can be very painful to feel replaced in this regard.
Now how bad is emotional cheating compared to a physical affair? Physical cheating can often be just casual sex with no deep, emotional connection. While this is still far from a good situation, some people feel it’s better than emotional infidelity. They feel somewhat comforted if there was no love or emotional intimacy involved, and it was only a physical act.
These two forms of infidelity are not mutually exclusive, however. If you’re suspicious of an emotional affair, be prepared for the possibility of it becoming physical. This doesn’t always happen, but the emotional affair affair may be worth looking into if you have that suspicion.