Thank you for reaching out and asking these important questions. I appreciate how hard it is to ask for help and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m really glad you did. I am going to share my thoughts on your situation as candidly as possible.<\/p>\n
You say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never cheated on my wife,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I would venture that you are talking about never having had sexual contact outside of your marriage. However, there is another side to infidelity<\/a> that many people are unaware of or fail to\u00c2\u00a0acknowledge\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe emotional affair. An emotional affair is when a married or committed partner turns to an individual outside of the partnership to fulfill emotional needs. The situation you are describing with your coworker sounds like an emotional affair, especially because it appears that your wife is not aware of the type and amount of contact you have had with this woman.<\/p>\n While affairs may progress in any number of ways, they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t generally \u00e2\u20ac\u0153just happen.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Affairs happen by a series of small compromises: sharing secrets with someone other than your partner; doing things with someone that more often than not should be reserved for your partner, such as going to the movies or having nice meals out; and hiding behavior. Eventually, many people find themselves in an all-out affair. While I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not suggesting that you are having an affair, you are certainly on a slippery slope, and it is apparent that this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153friendship\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is taking a toll on your marriage<\/a>. Even if nothing has happened yet, there is a very real possibility that could change very quickly.<\/p>\n