Infidelity: Types, Signs, Causes, Effects

Does infidelity in relationships strictly mean having a sexual relationship with someone else? If you ask anyone about infidelity and its meaning, each person will define it differently based on their understanding and perspective. However, infidelity has various forms, and in this article, we will introduce you to the different types of infidelity. Is having any emotional relationship with someone other than your spouse considered infidelity? Are you familiar with the different types of infidelity? What are the definitions and types of infidelity? And so on…

He said, “I didn’t cheat; I just met her once or twice, and that’s not infidelity.” Has he cheated or not? If we don’t know precisely what infidelity means, how can we address infidelity issues in our relationships? Therefore, it is essential to understand infidelity. So, stay with us as we continue with this article.

What Is Infidelity? | Definitions of infidelity

The most crucial assumption in romantic relationships is exclusivity, which means that both individuals are emotionally and sexually committed to each other.

Infidelity encompasses all behaviors and actions of a married individual outside the family framework, leading to friendly, intimate, emotional, or romantic connections that bring certain excitements to the person committing the act.

Glass and Wright define infidelity as a sexual, emotional, or combination of both relationships. They believe that emotional infidelity can harm a marital relationship even if it does not lead to a sexual relationship.

Any illicit sexual relations or emotional connections outside the marital framework, conducted secretly and posing a threat to the marriage, are legally defined as infidelity.

If a person does not have a sexual relationship with someone else but spends specific time, affection, intimacy, and emotional connection with them, which violates the couple’s agreement or is detrimental and threatening to the marital relationship, such situations should be considered infidelity.

Two factors seem to play a role in labeling a relationship as infidelity: one is the violation of the couple’s agreement, and the second is if the relationship harms the marriage, which it often does, such a relationship should be considered infidelity.

Infidelity in marriage is a phenomenon that often occurs when an individual’s emotional or sexual needs are fulfilled outside the marital sphere. When a person’s needs are met by someone of the opposite sex, it creates such satisfaction and contentment that they risk engaging in secret relationships with that person.

At the moment when a man and woman feel they have fallen in love with each other and express this love, infidelity has taken shape. Most infidelities begin with friendship.

As the friendship deepens, they strive to meet each other’s needs. The most important emotional needs are those that, when satisfied, result in the happiest and most fulfilling feelings within us, leading to the creation of love;

A love that may be false, but when those specific needs are met, the individual falls in love with the person who fulfilled those needs. Unmet needs have a powerful impact. They are so potent that people may be willing to sacrifice their spouse, children, job, and beliefs to fulfill their emotional needs.

In existing academic sources, infidelity and marital betrayals are categorized. Generally, marital infidelities can be viewed on a spectrum, with emotional infidelities on one end and sexual betrayals on the other.

This perspective divides infidelity into three main categories with subcategories:

In this type of emotional infidelity, one partner, for various reasons, discusses personal or family emotional issues more with someone outside the family than with their spouse, seeking emotional support from them. In this scenario, the outsider becomes the emotional support for the unfaithful spouse.

Emotional infidelity has various subcategories, including internet connections, workplace relationships, and phone communications.

Sexual infidelity involves a married man or woman engaging in sexual relations with an unfamiliar member of the opposite sex. This type of infidelity has been considered unacceptable across cultures and throughout history.

Subcategories of sexual infidelity include same-sex sexual relationships, diverse sexual relations with individuals other than one’s spouse, and deriving pleasure from these interactions.

Composite infidelity is a combination of emotional and sexual infidelity. As mentioned earlier, if emotional and sexual infidelity are seen as the two ends of the infidelity spectrum, composite infidelity can be viewed as the middle ground. This suggests that this type of infidelity might be more common than other forms.

In this form of infidelity, the unfaithful individual may initially become involved in emotional matters, ultimately leading to sexual issues, or may start with purely sexual matters, with emotional aspects emerging later in the relationship.

According to pittman, the types of infidelity are as follows:

This type of infidelity involves unplanned meetings that arise from a romantic and intimate relationship. This type of relationship occurs when partners are alone, traveling, facing problems at home, or when their spouse is unavailable due to physical or medical issues, pregnancy, or other reasons.

Having relationships with multiple women has become a recreational pursuit in illicit affairs, resembling ordinary entertainment and fun.

This type of relationship arises from falling in love and becoming ensnared in someone’s affection. Pittman claims that a romantic illicit affair is dangerous and significantly harms those involved.

In these cases, both partners explicitly or implicitly agree to have extramarital affairs, effectively disregarding all values in the emotional relationship, leading to an emotional divorce.

In any relationship where spousal infidelity occurs, it is due to a lack of self-worth felt by both parties. When values are disregarded, individuals feel unworthy, and their beliefs related to their values need to be examined.

Conclusion

In this article, we explored the definitions and types of infidelity, emphasizing the need to become more aware and informed about these definitions and areas to address infidelity issues in relationships.

We advocate for greater awareness because sometimes our problems worsen when we have a limited view of a topic, and overcoming a challenge requires broader insight and understanding. Greater understanding helps eliminate denial, as overcoming denial and reaching acceptance is crucial for resolving issues.