With the allegations from NY Yankee Alex's Rodriguez's wife that he had an "affair of the heart" with Madonna and not a physical affair, "emotional cheating" has become a hotly debate topic.
The question is if you have a relationship with someone other than your spouse but you do not have sexual relations, does that make it okay? Is it still cheating? People Magazine has a poll on it's website about emotional cheating and so far 80% of the people who have responded feel that emotional cheating is still cheating. I would have to agree.
With so many people forming relationships with strangers on the Internet today, some would think that having a "virtual affair" would also not count. But any kind of affair, ,whether physical or not, is a betrayal. When you take away your affection, attention and energy from your spouse and spend that on someone else, you are putting your marriage in jeopardy. The other danger is that these emotional affairs often do turn into sexual ones. If you are in a relationship, it is best to not play with fire. Don't fool yourself into thinking that because you haven't slept with someone you are not betraying your partner.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20211449,00.html