Emotional Affair vs Physical Affair

most damaging and least easy to forgive - emotional

I don't really understand what an emotional affair means.

Is the idea that once you are in a romantic relationship, you can't have a deep meaningful friendships with other people? The line between emotional affair, and jealousy seems awfully murky. On the other hand, it is always clear what a physical affair is.

i am a swinger and into BDSM:

emotional is far worse.

my wife has sex with lots of guys, that is fine, even to the point where she tells me after the fact, when I have not pre approved the sex. but her getting emotionally attached to the guys? her lying to me? OMG, that is not OK.

I answered quickly and erased it - those words would and have impacted me, but some tossed off words can just about kill a heart.

I've heard both, but emotional wins.

Let me ask my question clearly. I think it is relevant.

What is the difference between an emotional affair and a meaningful friendship?

Good question.

in one case they have executed ongoing relationships with honor, in the other case not. come on now, this is relationship 101, are you really so ignorant?

I guess I am so ignorant.

I don't know what it means to execute ongoing relationships with honor. It sounds awfully subjective.

you either leave old relationships or you get permission to start new ones

you either leave old relationships or you get permission to start new ones

you either leave old relationships or you get permission to start new ones

Max, an emotional affair is when the heart is involved.

Hmmm... I guess I am still not sure how to make that distinction.

I am currently single and unattached. I have several meaningful friendships with women and men. My heart is involved in each of these relationships. I care about my close friends in a real way (even though I am not involved with any of them physically).

When someone is in a romantic relationship, do these close friendships with other people become impossible?

I don't have a problem with sexual exclusivity. But, emotional exclusivity is an odd idea. I want my partner to not have a physical relationship with anyone else. But to demand that my partner not have close meaningful friendships seems unfair and unhealthy in a relationship.

Just because you like having your ass tickled with a feather doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a swinger and into BDSM.

It's whatever emotionally insecure people deem it to mean.

Ted Cruz is the greatest political gift to the Democrats since the Iraq war.

You really should change this, Max. It deals a major blow to your carefully contrived image of fairness.

You know full well that Iraq was not a war. It was an illegal invasion of a sovereign nation by the US and its poodles.

It seems so far emotional affair is taking the lead... However I feel I should explain the difference

Emotional Affair is when I person in a relationship meets a new (or an existing friend) individual and begins to give their time to this person emotionally, while not meeting the emotional needs of their current partner because they are too caught up with this other person.. I.E texting all day, emailing, flirting.. but never taking it to a physical level. Sharing your secrets, hopes, desires while your partner sits at home looking for attention but your attention is focused elsewhere.

Physical Affair is when a person has physical sexual contact with another person that is not their partner however no emotions are involved. I.E one night stands, sex without follow up, sex with the same person but strictly sex without discussion of anything but sex. This also includes other sexual acts besides sex.

The there is the emotional affair that ends up turning physical or the physical affair that ends up turning emotional...

I hope that all makes sense, at least it is how I see it

I don't think she was talking about friends - I read it that she was speaking about emotional/physical relationships between two consenting adults. Normally one doesn't have physical relationships with their friends.

The problem I am having with this emotional affair thing is that is so subjective.

I give time to all of my friends emotionally. And sharing secrets, hopes and desires, to differing extents, is a part of any meaningful friendship. I do this with my male friends as well as my female friends.

The key part of your description is the "not meeting the emotional needs of their current partner". Of course you can fail to meet the emotional needs of your partner even if you don't have any friends.

And, of course, there is the question of which of your partner's emotional needs are you responsible for meeting? If are dependent on one person (your partner) for all of your emotional needs, I think this unhealthy. The best relationships, in my opinion, are where both partners have close friendships outside of the relationship.

A Physical Affair is so cut and dry. If you are my girlfriend and you have sex with someone else, you are cheating. If you kiss someone else, you are cheating. There is a clear line. Obviously there is some grey area, if my girlfriend flirts excessively I might get upset. But, there is a clear line to a Physical affair.

But if my girlfriend has a friend (who isn't me) that they aren't sleeping with or kissing, do I have the right to be jealous? Does my feeling that isn't meeting MY emotional needs give me the right to demand that she not give continue in her relationship with her friends?

If I accuse my girlfriend of having an "emotional affair", this gives me the right to control who she is friends with and how she relates to her friends. I am not comfortable with this, particularly when the definition of "emotional affair" is so unclear.