Sex in affairs can exist without love. Sex is not intimacy. Sex cannot resolve and heal the past. Sex is not a substitute for low self-esteem. Sex can be restored.
Intimacy is another story.
We rarely have several intimate relationships. Intimate relationships are not easily substituted. A marriage that has undergone the challenge of surviving a sexual detour can be successful in every way. Intimacy can be established. Sex can become an expression of the intimacy the relationship did not have before.