3. They become obsessive with their phone.
Your S.O used to leave their phone all over the house, but now, they take it everywhere with them and get antsy if you pick it up. That could potentially be cause for concern, said Jennifer Chappell Marsh, marriage and family therapist in San Diego.
“People in emotional affairs become obsessive with their phones,” she said. “If your S.O. is constantly checking their phone for new messages, incessant texting and updating their social media, it may indicate that they’re emotionally invested in another person’s life.”
4. They say they’re “just friends.”
Interestingly enough, having your S.O. assure you that the other person is “just a friend” is a big red flag, said Zach Brittle, a therapist and founder of the online couples therapy series forBetter
“If you’re ‘just friends’ with someone, you talk about them as ‘my friend Jen’ or ‘my co-worker Steve,’ you don’t explain your relationship with them by saying that you’re ‘just friends’,” said Brittle, referencing a theory popularized by the late Shirley Glass, a renowned researcher and the author of NOT Just Friends: Protect Your Relationship from Infidelity and Heal the Trauma of Betrayal.
“As Glass suggested, the semantics of that phrase suggest that you’re defending something that your partner is unaware of or are uncomfortable with,” Brittle said.
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