When we first think of cheating, we rarely think of having an emotional affair with someone else outside your marriage or relationship. Even though these might not include romance, it can still have a great impact on you and your partner. You might notice unexplainable changes in your loved one that you likely weren’t even aware of.
There are many different reasons why an emotional affair can happen, listed below are some of the signs so you don’t confuse them with physical cheating:

1. Their “special” friend comes first

Your partner’s focus is more on the other person and this “friend” seems more important to them than you are. Even if you try your best to explain that this third wheel is what’s causing all the fuss between you, things don’t change. In fact, you get blamed for being jealous.

2. They don’t want to change their plans for you

In the past, when a new opportunity to spend quality time with your partner came up, they wouldn’t miss it and would adjust their plans. However, it’s not like this anymore. Now they stand strong behind their own plans and don’t want to change them, no matter how exciting your plans sound.

3. They love social media all of a sudden

Overall. your partner’s interest in phones, social media, and other technology may increase. Even though they’ve always been against social sites and rarely use them, now they can’t get off of their phone. You might notice that they stop texting the moment you enter the room unexpectedly.

4. They’re overprotective over their phone

Not only do they love being on their phone, but it seems that they’re willing to protect it with their life. If they jump at the thought of you trying to check their phone or simply move it, they stop you. Maybe they have new passwords installed on the device or have started locking their phone, which they never did in the past.

5. They must work more than usual, out of the blue

Your partner always used to make it home on time — perhaps a few minutes late here and there. However, now they call you and make excuses that they need to stay at work longer. You may notice that the things they say simply don’t add up. They’re likely doing this to spend more time with this “special friend.”

6. They don’t open up to you anymore

If your partner is now getting more emotional attention from someone else, you might notice that they’re not paying much attention to you. They may stop talking about their bad days or problems, or cease to share good news with you. You don’t even see the same signs of stress that they once had when talking to you. This is probably happening because they’re getting the support they need outside of your relationship.

7. They make you think you’re crazy when the topic comes up

When you start to talk about this “special friend,” they will become defensive. In some cases, they might lash out and start to criticize you. The strongest sign of an outside emotional relationship is if they jump and defend their new friend the second they hear the smallest negative comment about them.