Is emotional or mental infidelity considered abuse?
Last updated: 2026-08-10 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
The law names it specifically. RA 9262 §3(C) lists "mental infidelity" among its examples of psychological violence, alongside intimidation, harassment, and repeated verbal abuse, as an act that can cause or is likely to cause mental or emotional suffering.
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Frequently asked
What does 'mental infidelity' mean under the law?
RA 9262 doesn't define the term beyond naming it in §3(C)'s list — the statute doesn't spell out where an emotional connection with someone else crosses into "mental infidelity" for these purposes.
Does this apply the same way to a boyfriend as to a husband?
Yes — §3 covers a wife, a former wife, and a woman with whom a man has or had a dating relationship, so the psychological-violence provisions in §3(C), including this one, apply the same way regardless of marital status.
Is mental infidelity treated as its own separate category, or part of something bigger?
It's one named item within §3(C)'s definition of psychological violence — not a standalone category of abuse under RA 9262.
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Whether what's happening even counts as abuse under RA 9262 — psychological violence without a hand ever being raised, economic control, threats, and the reach of the law beyond marriage and beyond your front door.