PTEHarambe t1_iqwqncm wrote on October 3, 2022 at 5:37 PM

Reply to comment by iphigenia22 in In light of the Try Guys' Cheating Scandal, I asked 50 friends whether they thought physical or emotional cheating was worse [oc] by hannigong4dmi

To be clear obviously me and my s/o will have friends we talk and hangout with separately from one another. That's normal life. I just don't consider that cheating which is what my original comment was questioning. If there was a scenario where that was happening with the intention of getting intimate with said person then that would be something I'd be upset about. I still don't consider it "emotional cheating" I consider it sorta like the law treats conspiring to commit a crime vs actually commiting said crime.

NeverNotUnstoppable t1_iqxw2nv wrote on October 3, 2022 at 10:05 PM

>I just don't consider that cheating

Nor does anyone else, are you being deliberately obtuse here? Cheating is any interaction with a potential partner that you feel you need to keep secret from your SO for fear of relationship repercussions.

iphigenia22 t1_iqwt08a wrote on October 3, 2022 at 5:52 PM

Right, got you. I'd certainly agree that having other friends to confide in and discuss issues etc is absolutely normal and healthy. That may not have been clear from the above comment alone but I'd written a very long one above and didn't want to repeat the content.

I think most of us over a certain age know when we're approaching that line where a regular friendship begins to have a feeling of being deeper or more significant than it perhaps ought too. A wise person who wishes to protect their relationship will redirect course at that point, a person only out for their own gain will not. We pro-actively protect what we value. A person with integrity who is genuinely committed (in the sense of loyalty not law) will not allow a situation to arise that threatens their established relationship in the first place.

There's certainly nothing wrong with having an attraction to another person whilst in a relationship, but when our actions don't prioritise protecting the relationship over our indulging said attraction under the disingenuous guide of friendship, that's when I'd suggest it begins to creep into the realms of emotional infidelity, ponder it gets to hiding texts and telling white lies it's generally a downhill slope to breaking someone else's heart.