5 Emotional Affair Warning Signs You Should Know

Could your partner's new friendship be crossing the line? Join us as Coach Jared from Marriage Helper sheds light on recognizing the subtle but powerful signs of an emotional affair. From increased privacy and unexplained defensiveness to growing emotional distance, discover the key behaviors that might indicate your partner is seeking emotional fulfillment elsewhere. Coach Jared introduces the intriguing concept of "the wall and the bricks," revealing how vulnerability can pave the way from harmless friendship to emotional intimacy.

Stay calm and proactive as we explore practical steps to address these concerns without panic. Through self-improvement and open communication, learn how to navigate these challenging situations constructively. With Marriage Helper's expert guidance, uncover how recognizing the problem is just the beginning and find out the best ways to support your relationship in times of emotional uncertainty. Don't miss this comprehensive discussion packed with valuable insights and actionable advice.

Want to have the proven, practical steps to save your marriage?
Click here to sign up for our Save My Marriage Membership today!

📞 BOOK A CALL WITH OUR TEAM: https://marriagehelper.com/booknow

🔗 Website: https://marriagehelper.com
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marriagehelper
👀 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marriagehelper

Follow our other channels!
📺 https://youtube.com/@kimberlybeamholmes
📺 https://youtube.com/@drjoebeam

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:11

What if the person that you love is growing closer to somebody else? Maybe that could be happening and you don't realize it. In this video today, we're going to show you some of the subtle yet really powerful clues that you can look for that might indicate an emotional affair. Hey everybody, welcome back to Marriage Helper. My name is Coach Jared. I am the Membership Fulfillment Manager. I'm going to talk to you about some of the key signs that you can look for that may indicate an emotional affair. Remember, if you believe there is an emotional affair, there's no reason to panic. There are steps we can take to mitigate an affair, but recognizing that it's happening is the first step.

Speaker 1: 1:52

Many of you have asked the question what is an emotional affair? How does it differ from a normal friendship? Well, there are several key differences. It's very normal to have a friendship. In fact, we believe at Marriage Helper that friendship can exist between a man and a woman, for example. The problem comes when the emotional connections become too deep, too personal. So at Marriage Hoper, we speak of a concept called the wall and the bricks. Now, my wall is the thing inside of me that protects me emotionally from other people, and bricks are the things that I can give people. They represent vulnerability. They're facts that I can talk about, that I can reveal about myself, that let somebody see into who I am. And whenever you hand bricks to a person that may become attracted to you, you risk creating emotional intimacy, and with the emotional intimacy becomes strong enough, an emotional affair is born. As an example, your spouse may be talking to a colleague about some of the ways that they feel at home. I feel like my wife doesn't listen to me, I feel like my husband takes me for granted, and when the work colleague gives them acceptance, they enjoy the way that feels so much that it incentivizes them to continue handing bricks from their personal life to this person and eventually what happens is their strong feelings for this person begin to take over. At that point they're in a great deal of danger of forming an emotional affair. They're leaning on this particular work colleague to supply their deep emotional needs instead of you at home, and so you get emotional investment outside the marriage.

Speaker 1: 3:51

Another clue we can look for is increased privacy and secrecy. So if your spouse normally has an unlocked phone, but now all of a sudden they have a password that might indicate that they're not trusting you enough. Maybe they have something to hide. You may also notice emotional distance growing. You tell a joke, talk about your day, and your spouse just doesn't have a lot of response. They seem distant, cold, uninterested. That could indicate that they're having their needs supplied somewhere else rather than at home. One other strong clue when they are confronted with the reality of this relationship, they may become very defensive. With the reality of this relationship, they may become very defensive. So if somebody says, hey, you're spending an awful lot of time with that work colleague, no, I'm not, we're just friends. You're not allowed to accuse me of that. What Men and women can't be friends, right? That kind of defensiveness indicates that they're trying to protect that relationship. So those various clues seeking fulfillment outside the marriage, becoming emotionally distant from you, being secretive with their private stuff around you like their phone and journal and things of that nature, and also just being very defensive anytime the subject is brought up. When you see a combination of those symptoms, that may indicate that there's an inappropriate relationship that's in development.

Speaker 1: 5:24

Again, as we said, don't panic. If you see this happening, don't panic. And if you see one or two of them happening, it doesn't mean your spouse is being unfaithful necessarily, so don't panic. Mean your spouse is being unfaithful, necessarily, so don't panic. It's very important that you not act rashly in these situations. So again, we're Marriage Helper. We can help you navigate what you can do if you start to notice these signs of an emotional affair. Step one don't panic. Step two work on yourself. We've got the solution. You're not in uncharted waters if you see this occurring. If you want to know more about this topic, you may click here, and we hope to see you in the next one.