The term often describes a bond between two people that mimics or matches the closeness and emotional intimacy of a romantic relationship while not being physically consummated.
An emotional affair may emerge from a friendship, and progress toward greater levels of personal intimacy and attachment.
The intimacy between the people involved usually stems from a friendship with confidence to tell each other intimate aspects of themselves[clarification needed], their relationships, or even subjects they would not discuss with their partners.
It is theorized that an emotional affair can injure a committed relationship more than a one night stand or other casual sexual encounters.
Research by Glass & Wright found that men's extramarital relationships were more sexual and women's more emotional.
[5] In University of Chicago surveys conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC)[6] between 1990 and 2002, 27% of people who reported being happy in marriage admitted to having an extramarital affair.