Many marriages are damaged after one or both spouses are unfaithful. Rebuilding trust can be difficult if not impossible. If there are children in the marriage, being unfaithful to your spouse doesn’t mean just cheating on your husband or wife, it means cheating on your entire family, because everyone is affected. We all understand what cheating means, but are there other ways of being unfaithful?
We’ve discussed emotional affairs, where one spouse seeks emotional support or companionship outside the marriage. “He was so easy to talk to,” or, “She always listened and never criticized my ideas,” say a lot about what is lacking at home. However, and emotional affair is still cheating, and it can often lead to a sexual affair.
So, what are the other ways of being unfaithful? Any time a spouse regularly seeks to have his or her needs met outside the marriage it can be construed as being unfaithful. It many not be an ongoing affair but a one time thing. It may not be an emotional affair in the flesh, but a whole lot of talking or flirting with someone else online.
Some people don’t consider these things as being unfaithful. It really depends on how you and your spouse feel about such issues. Every marriage is different. However, I’ll offer one friendly piece of advice: “When in doubt, don’t.”
If you are engaging in questionable activities, or doing things that you can’t comfortably, freely, discuss with your husband or wife, than you likely know these things are not good for marriage. Even if what you are doing isn’t technically being unfaithful or cheating, it may still be cheating your marriage of closeness.
It takes work, but if you and your spouse are willing to find ways to meet each other’s needs, and have your own needs met within your marriage instead of looking outward, you will both be happier for it.