Even if you are married or in a committed romantic relationship, you still need to have other relationships in your life. Usually, these relationships are with friends or co-workers. It's possible to be friends with another person without crossing the line into something more.

However, if you think about this person throughout the day, deliberately change your routine to connect with this person, begin fantasizing about what life would be like with them, and begin comparing this person with your spouse, you are crossing a line.

These connections can sometimes evolve into what is commonly known as an emotional affair.

Just because your situation isn’t physical, doesn’t mean that what you are doing is right. An emotional affair can have just as big of an impact on your committed relationship as a physical one.

Once you cross the line from friendship or co-worker into something more, it’s difficult to repair the damage that your spouse and other family members will suffer due to your behavior.

Finding out or even suspecting that your spouse or partner is having an affair is one of the most hurtful things that can happen to a relationship.

Instant feelings of anger, shock, resentment and other negative emotions can set in quickly causing you to do things that can harm your future. Knowing that your partner is involved with someone else is hard enough, but knowing what to do can be even harder.

As a family law attorney, I’ve observed first hand the rebuilding a relationship after an affair is possible but can take a long time and may even end up not being attainable.

We may like to believe that only those who are in unhappy marriages engage in affairs, but in reality, the temptation to become involved with another person outside of marriage can happen to anyone.