Source: vitapix / Getty
What is considered cheating in a romantic relationship? Over the holiday weekend, a clip from Baby Boy began to circulate on Twitter and Instagram that sparked a debate over exactly qualifies as cheating. The infamous clip depicts the film’s protagonist Jody as he gets ready to have sex with Pandora, a colleague of his girlfriend, Yvette, but he decides against it in the eleventh hour.
The entire set up is completely scandalous in nature, but the mixed opinions over whether or not Jody had actually cheated on Yvette in this scene revealed the immense gray area that some tread in when it comes to fidelity and relationships.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines fidelity as faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support. By contrast, infidelity is described as “unfaithfulness to a moral obligation” or “disloyalty.” The definition of infidelity is quite broad and studies have shown that what men and women perceive as unfaithfulness tends to vary drastically.
A sexual affair is not the only way that a person can be unfaithful to their partner. Continue reading for nine other forms of infidelity that can manifest in relationships.
Emotional infidelity
An emotional affair is developing and cultivating an emotional bond with someone other than your spouse or partner that is romantic in nature. They typically evolve out of innocent friendships when one or both parties invest an inordinate amount of physical and emotional energy into someone other than their spouse and romantic partner. Emotional affairs are often referred to as “gateway affairs” because they frequently serve as the pathway to other forms of cheating. Emotional affairs are the most damaging forms of cheating because they can go undetected for longer periods of time.
