Being cheated on by a partner is one of the most hurtful and humiliating experiences imaginable. Suspecting that your partner is being unfaithful can really shake you, and I it turns out to be true it can turn your entire world upside down.
Catching cheaters is old hat for a seasoned investigator like myself. Over half of the enquiries I receive are from people concerned for the future of their relationship, fearing their partner is being unfaithful. I wish I could say it’s a waste of everyone’s time, but unfortunately often the culprit is caught red-handed.
Proving infidelity is not as simple as snapping some photos of them in a restaurant – cheaters are clever. But, I am cleverer. Here are a few interesting ways I’ve caught a cheater in the act.
Sidebar: I never have and never would ‘honey-trap’!
Names and locations have been changed to protect identities.
Lost Dog
I was contacted online by Debra, whose growing suspicions that her husband, Paul, was cheating was weighing heavy on her mind. It got the point where she just needed answers. Due to their individual circumstances at the time, they were living in separate parts of the country – making a secret affair well within the realms of possibility. Debra gave me his address, and I set about conducting surveillance.
I went to the house in the early hours of the morning – about 3am. Sure enough, a car which did not belong to Paul was parked in the driveway. I waited, making sure the mysterious guest didn’t leave without me seeing. As morning dawned, I approached the house with my phone in one hand, and a dog lead in the other.
I knocked hastily on the door and, as predicted, a young woman in a dressing gown answered. Feigning distress, I explained I had lost my dog and asked if she would mind checking her garden. She obliged and called her partner downstairs to help look. And there he was. My clients cheating husband.
I caught the whole thing on camera, and provided Debra with the evidence she needed to confront her husband and get the closure (and divorce settlement) she deserved.
As for my dog…. She was safe at home, 60-odd miles away!
No Work & All Play
Jonathan was convinced that his partner, Mark, was up to something behind his back. Mark was a lawyer, and dealt with a lot of shady criminals. There was a rapid increase in late nights at the office, secretive phone use, and erratic behaviour from Mark, so Jonathan was concerned that he was caught up in criminal activity, or even on drugs. He contacted me to follow Mark to set some answers – he did NOT suspect Mark was cheating, which made this case a lot harder.
I spent a bit of time watching Mark. There was a free public car park and a few cafes/bars within viewing distance of his office entrance which meant it was easy to stake-out without looking suspicious. Jonathan was always in touch, telling me when Mark said he was working late at the office and asking me to confirm. Some of the time, I would happily report back that Mark hadn’t left the office – but not all the time. Sometimes Mark would say he was working, or at the gym, but he was neither.
With Jonathan’s go-ahead, I started following Mark – from a safe, conspicuous distance. I discovered that Mark was seeing multiple people behind Jonathan’s back. It was hard delivering that evidence, as all along Jonathan was convinced Mark was faithful, and that his weird behaviour was something else.
Shady Business
Linda reached out to me with suspicions that her husband, George, was having an affair. He often worked away from home, leaving Linda unhappy and uncertain. George’s behaviour made her suspicious, and she believed he was cheating. Linda was ready to act, but without evidence that he was being unfaithful, she would end up losing everything.
I knew the best way to find that evidence was to catch him in the act. I put a tracker on his car (just one of the tricks I have up my sleeve) and found my client’s suspicions were completely right. He was meeting another woman, taking her out to restaurants and even returning to her home while he was supposedly in a hotel while on the road for work.
The really interesting detail, however, I found later during my final background checks. It turned out he had been running a profitable side business that his wife knew nothing about! So not only did Linda manage to get a fair divorce settlement and keep her house, she was also entitled to profits from George’s secret business!