She is the first person he calls or texts when he is disgruntled and needs to get something off his chest.

And she is the first person he calls or texts when he is having a great day or has received some great news and he wants to share it.

These are situations that are emotionally charged, and he turns to her first when he is in the midst of these feelings.

Although you are his girlfriend, you aren’t the first one he looks to when he wants to express these emotions.

She is.

On top of this, he constantly wants her to be physically present whenever he is hanging out on the town with you.

Instead of taking you to a restaurant that weekend and enjoying a romantic evening together with great food, he invites a group of his friends to tag along, and she is a part of them.

This is how he covers himself so that he isn’t making it so obvious that his primary motivation is to have her be there.

More and more outings are like this.

Instead of just the two of you, he invites a group of his friends to tag along, and she is always present as a group member.

Every occasion plays out the same way.

He starts the night sitting next to you but ends it sitting next to her.

Their laughter is voluminous, and he has somehow forgotten that he came to the restaurant with you.

Meanwhile, you are stuck with a few of his friends on either side boring you with a conversation about something to do with tech or sports.

A boyfriend who exhibits all of this kind of behavior with his female friend is emotionally cheating on you.

An opposite-sex friendship is highly tenuous.

A man and a woman who share a platonic friendship but find each other physically attractive is a dangerous gamble.

Opposite-sex friendships with this kind of dynamic are like dormant volcanos waiting to burst with lava over time.

Oftentimes, the two friends haven’t told each other that they find each other to be physically attractive and have since developed feelings over the course of their platonic friendship.

Instead, they choose to keep up the friendship with the ultimate wish that someone reveals their feelings to the other and a romance can finally ensue.

Opposite-sex friendships can persist for years under this guise.

During that time, both friends can get into romantic relationships with other people.

Yet, the feelings they have for each other as supposed platonic friends don’t go away while they are in romantic relationships with other people.

And whenever there is a breakup and the two friends happen to be single at the same time, there is renewed hope that their friendship can finally transition into a romantic relationship.

It’s possible that you inadvertently started dating a guy who has had this kind of history with his female friend.

Two friends with an underlying layer of tension borne of a physical attraction that has grown exponentially as their friendship has persisted.

But, yet again, while they were single, neither one revealed their attraction to each other.

Ergo, he starts dating you.

Meanwhile, she is currently single.

There is no new boyfriend in her life to provide a distraction or emotional support.

The moment you and your boyfriend start getting into altercations and disagreements, she is on the wings ready to be his emotional support.

He turns to her to complain about you.

She gives him emotional support by making him feel better about himself and absolving him from any blame.

After a few more instances where he comes to her for emotional support after having an altercation or disagreement with you, it becomes easier for him to come to her for her emotional support in other areas.

This is where he goes to her first for emotional support when he is having a bad day at work or receives great news about a job promotion.

As this persists for weeks and months, it is clear and obvious that emotional cheating is happening.