this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2026
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I'm in the latter category. "Wife" of any kind involves close emotional connection and probably sexy times.
You can say that a work wife doesn't include sexy times, and maybe that's true for almost everyone using the term. But close emotional connection?
Friends are fine. Close friends even. But if you're relying on anyone besides your wife/spouse for close emotional connection/support, you're begging for trouble.
How did your wife become your wife in the first place? Likely your emotional connection started first, then the sexual. The same thing can happen with your "work wife". It's a risk I'm not willing to take.
Maybe none of this is true for people using the term, maybe they just mean a good friend at work who they click with and can therefore get a lot of work done efficiently together. Ok good, great even, but I recommend using a different word to describe it, because "work wife" implies something else to most people.
Or at least that's how I feel about all that 🤷♂️
You’re right. I’ve seen people who use this term eventually have an affair more than not. I think people taking offense have a work spouse and know they have these feelings.
Spouse implies sex. We aren’t being a way to assume these things.