I’m 35. Straight. And I’m asking this seriously. I developed a pretty strong emotional attachment to a male friend at work. He’s married, has a kid. Nothing physical. I don’t want anything physical. But emotionally, it got heavier than a normal friendship should. It wasn’t lust. It felt more like: I admire him, feel understood by him, and want more closeness than he probably wants to give. I started noticing I think about him a lot. His reactions affect me more than they should. That’s when I realized I needed to step back. I’m not questioning boundaries. I won’t cross them. What I’m trying to figure out is this: Do straight men experience this and just never talk about it? Is this just loneliness + lack of romantic experience getting redirected? How do you tell the difference between deep male friendship and emotional over-attachment? I’m not looking for comfort answers. I want honest male perspectives. submitted by /u/nttam
Originally posted by u/nttam on r/AskMen