Is having an emotional affiar better, worse, or equal to having a sexual affair?

Answer 1

I think that it is close to the same thing... it all depends on the relationship that your in and how your partner feels

Answer 2

It depends on the person, to be honest.

A sexual affair is easily to recognize (it's a tangible thing, and we can clearly define what it is); and it is very symbolic in terms of showing two people who are "one" with each other in commitment and spirit. So a sexual affair is a blatant slap against the marriage and also visibly reveals what the person is feeling inside.

An emotional affair is fuzzier, harder to define. It exists in a gray area, since we have all sorts of relationships with people and it's hard to know where the "line" is sometimes.

The easiest definition of an emotional affair is whether the new person takes priority over your partner. Do you tell them more than you tell your partner, share your secrets with them now, and find yourself pulling away from your partner? If they've supplanted your partner, that it's an emotional affair.

-- Better or worse in terms of "fixing" things

A sexual affair is bad in that the cheater knew where the line was and crossed it anyway. It's deliberate. Then again, the solution to a sexual affair is to stop having sex with that person. That's easy, if you set up the right "rules" to guide yourself.

An emotional affair is harder to deal with. It happens accidentally, and to stop it means cutting off a relationship that you had enjoyed. It wasn't just about sex (or not about sex at all) -- it was about a personal connection that you will now lose.

-- Better or worse in terms of morality

Both are affairs. Both hurt the other person. Some people will be hurt more over one type of affair than another, but both violate the original relationship and destroy trust that is hard to regain.

In that sense, they're both equal. It's not just about the attitude of the cheater but also must take into account the impact of their behavior on the partner being cheated on.

Answer 3

The word "affair" linked to either sex or emotions is equally a betrayal to the person you took vows with. It is a stripping of integrity for the person involved in either of these affairs. Once you have sacrificed your integrity there is not a single area of your life that goes unaffected and with out hard work and diligence it can take a life time, if ever, to be restored. The betrayed partner may never regain the level of trust they had freely given.
With either affair there are always questions...why are you late, what is going on, who were you talking to and thousands of others. The pain of the affair is then compounded by the lies the affair always brings on. The out and out lies and the lies by omission require the betrayed partner to look back and establish when their betrayer could no longer be trusted. The more times they were lied to or were not given a truthful reply to a direct question will effect the length of time required for healing.
The betrayer must cut all ties with the affair partner and agree to allow every aspect of their life to be an open book to the person they betrayed. They surrendered their privacy when they engaged in the affair.
The betrayer in an emotional affair will usually resoundingly believe their theory "we didn't have sex, I didn't do anything wrong" and may stubbornly not want to or be able to step into the other persons head and heart and look through the betrayed persons eyes.
Either affair strips the partnership of the physical or emotional intimacy that is the glue for any relationship. Your marriage should be a betrayal free zone.
Now, back to the simple question posed, for me, the emotional affair is the worst, the romance lives in the head and in the heart. Making love takes all day, a f*** is measured in minutes.

Answer 4

I think the emotional affairs are more deep than a sexual one. Sexual affairs can be just about the sex, the two of you are happy to meet every few days and thats it. But emotions are a serious thing even though you know you will probably end up with the sexual part but you will have feelings involved.

Answer 5

Having an emotional affair is much worse than having a sexual affair. Sex is just physical. It involves your body. But an emotional link with anyone other than your "significant other" is the beginning of the end. I don't advise starting on that partcular journey, unless you are prepared for the consequences.

Answer 6

Having an emotional affair is far worse because the trust, honesty, and openness that is supposed to be in a relationship is being shared with someone else. That can lead to deep emotions being blown out of proportion and feeling like"luv" because you feel so connected. It can also lead to a physical affair.

Answer 7

Usually women get more upset with an emotional affair and men get more upset with a sexual affair. I can answer for the man's viewpoint in that if his wife is banging someone else, she might get pregnant and he would raise a kid that wasn't his.

Which is "worse"? It depends on the person

Answer 8

Emotional attachment or affair if you will is more dangerous than a sexual affair..if U have sex just 4 the sake of physical attraction U can get over it and re dedicate to UR loved one...Emotional leads to mendal and to physical including sexual and leads to abandoning your original relationship,

Answer 9

Worse! I can understand a guy not being able to control sexual attraction, that might be forgivable, but as I am his partner he should be coming to me for emotional support unless I am the problem and even then I would appreciate it if he talked to me about it.

Answer 10

It is in my opinion just as bad as having a sexual affair.When you become emotionally involved with someone there is love and that is betrayal to your partner.The attention your giving this other person should be directed towards your partner.I'll bet when you get caught you will say well we just couldn't talk anymore and try to make it be the other persons fault.Truth is it will be your fault.You need to start talking to your partner and stop talking to this other person.

Answer 11

Everything about an affair is wrong, base on the fact that all between you & your spouse is being shared with someone else. What kind of relationship do you think you'd have with someone who'd sneak around on their spouse?