Emotional Affairs

Traditionally, the common notion of an affair involved explicit physical intimacy with another person. This, of course, requires an advanced degree of deception and the crossing of a very tangible threshold. However, with the advent of modern telecommunication, we have had to redefine what exactly it means to cheat on someone in a more removed, emotionally-based context.

What is An Emotional Affair?

An emotional affair is one that takes place through a person’s feelings or thoughts rather than in actual physical contact. In the modern world this usually occurs when two people develop an intimate correspondence via telephone or the Internet and begin to invest themselves emotionally in this correspondence.

Many people (especially those engaged in it) do not consider such behavior to be infidelity. However, it can actually be even more detrimental to a relationship than a physical affair, since the emotional attachment involved often develops over a prolonged period, creating a deeper rift between the existing couple than a short-lived fling.

In the redirection of his or her affection, the unfaithful partner is breaking the commitment to another individual upon which a relationship or marriage is founded. For this reason, emotional affairs are just as likely to result in divorce as physical ones.

Although it is a healthy and normal thing to have friends of both sexes outside of marriage, when this friendship turns into something more on either end, the risk of emotional attachment that is threatening to the relationship is present.

Contact Us

If you are facing divorce due to an emotional affair or for any other reason, contact Austin divorce lawyers of Slater, Kennon & Pugh Ltd.LLP today by calling 512-472-2431.