Emotional affairs tend to sneak up on you most of the time.

They perhaps start as a friendship or with an acquaintance or co-worker.

Eventually boundaries become blurred and slowly a line is crossed.

So where do these affairs typically begin to germinate?

Here are the results of a survey taken from those who visit my site.

I asked them the question: How did the emotional affair begin?

I've included below the responses from 43 visitors:

1. "In a bar."

2. "Restaurant//Bar."

3. "Client relationship."

4. "He was having work done at the dental office where she was a receptionist."

5. "They met at work."

6. "His affair started when I could not travel with him due to our severly handicapped son's illnesses and he started going out to dinner with this woman and then he started taking her away for the weekends."

7. "A friend we socialized with through religion and being nieghbors."

8. "Talking with this woman with similar interests."

9. "My ex-husband met this other woman at work."

10."She met him at work."

11. "My wife attended an "Indiana Jones" fan summit three years ago where she met 2 men who quickly attached to her."

12. "They met at work. It started following the birth of our 1st child."

13. "They worked together and she is his bosses daughter."

14. "My wife met her affair partner at the YMCA gym."

15. "Their offices are situated directly opposite each other and they are also seated at the entrances to their offices so are in view of each other."

16. "They met at a pub."

17. "He met her at work. She was a grad student. He is a well-respected professor."

18. "The affair began when my ex decided to start helping out one of his employees wife and childern because he was sent to jail."

19. "They're old high school friends and worked together on a reunion committee."

20. "On a chat room/message board."

21. "At a reunion of old friends from school/teen years after 20 years."

22. "They grew up together."

23. "Meeting of chance."

24. "Wife working away from home every week for 6 months. co-worker, meals together and in same hotel."

25. "At Work."

26. "He visited another country for business and he was introduced to her by a friend few hours before boarding the airplane."

27. "We were all good friends and their friendship developed."

28. "Work."

29. "He told me that she was a nice friend and they were going to lunch very often and they used to talk about their marriages. They meet at work."

30. "Started at office. He was her superior. An angry moment with me(his wife) started an e-mail relationship."

31. "Where he went to buy parts for his job."

32. "Work mates, both under stress from work."

33. "My wife and her "boyfriend" met in high school about 15 yrs. ago. They actually dated for a while as teenagers. He broke up with her when she refused to have sex with him."

34. "It was an old ex boyfriend!"

35. "He went ot work in other town (where she lived). They met everyday. She begun to tell him about her problems with the parents, with the school, how badly she suffered, etc."

36. "Commuting together."

37. "It began with a contact over the internet. They had dated before the marriage."

38. "They met through work when he had meetings in another state."

39. "They met in an official party."

40. "Traveling."

41. "They met in their work place."

42. "He met her at the restaurant where he works."

43. "At work. he was married. Started with flirting. She was interested, and decided to take it further."

As you can see from the above repsonses, emotional affairs can begin any time and any place. However, the large majority do begin in the workplace, or with someone who is close to you, your spouse, or your whole family.

Please feel free to share your response to the question in the comments section below.