I was scrolling through Twitter recently and came across the story of a smart woman who used the Find My Phone app to catch her man cheating. And no, she didn’t track her boyfriend’s phone — she hid her son’s phone in her man’s car, tracked the location and drove herself right over to her beloved — and his side chick!
The tweet made me giggle a little, but it also made me sad. Sad and proud, as if to say “You go, girl,” because really — who is smarter, more investigative and more creative than a woman who thinks her man is cheating?
Girlfriend, I’ve been there. I’ve worked overtime to catch a man lying and cheating. There was one particularly toxic relationship in which (I am ashamed to say) I actually made a fake Facebook account and messaged my boyfriend as an attractive catfish named Lindsay! Is that toxic, immature and slightly crazy? Why, yes, it sure is. But did it work? Hell yes, it did! He messaged “Lindsay” back flirtatiously and wanted to meet in person.
So, how have women discovered the whole truth and nothing but the truth when their partner cheated? I decided to gather some stories in the spirit of celebrating the creativity and talent of victims of cheating lies. Read on.
Anonymous text
One day, I received an anonymous message. I didn’t think twice about reading it. [The message said that my boyfriend] invited a coworker to lunch and that he was dating her [behind my back]. When he came home I confronted him, and he admitted everything — no explanations or denials. I was stunned, in excruciating agony, and furious. With so much anger in my heart, we chose to end our relationship. I couldn’t stand being with a liar. — Nicole, 31, Philippines
Vivid dream
My boyfriend had cheated on his last girlfriend, so I was always kind of on alert. On one particular night when I went to bed, he was still out. Then I had a dream. It was very real. I could see her face — someone he had introduced me to at a party. I could tell she was eyeing me up when we met. In my dream I saw them kissing. When we woke up together the next morning, my first question was, “Did you kiss someone else last night?” He was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe I knew, so he pretty much told on himself. — Karen, 44, Philadelphia
Woman’s intuition
My intuition was telling me something was off and that my boyfriend was dating online. He was in the military and traveled often for his job. So, I went to Match.com and started looking through men’s profiles in the zip code where he was stationed. Sure enough, I found his profile with photos I had taken of him on family vacations. — Amanda, 41, North Carolina
Unusual spy tool
I placed a baby monitor under the bed of the guest bedroom where he had been sleeping. I placed black electrical tape over the red light so he wouldn’t see the glow. And I listened to him chat with his girlfriend every night. This was to confirm what I already suspected (and he repeatedly denied)! Ugh! — Sheila, 63, Massachusetts
Revealing photo
After 23 years of what I thought was a pretty darned good marriage, I was shocked to get a card in the mail with a naked picture of my husband. At first, I turned to him, giggled and said, “Oh honey! What are you sending me?” Just as the words left my lips, the realization hit me that he had not sent me anything. Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg, and over the next two months I would learn that he had cheated with five other women. Those discoveries came when I was searching his email, and he straight up told me what all had happened. — Lora, 53, Colorado
His daughter’s bra
We had been together for a year, but never had “the talk.” Secretly, I wondered if there were other women, but on some subconscious level I choose the bliss of ignorance over the risk of ending what I thought was the best relationship ever. And then one morning, after spending the night with him, I rolled over to find my socks. Instead, I found a bra — and it certainly wasn’t mine. He tried to pass it off as his daughter’s, but the C cups made it obvious that the bra did not belong to a slim, prepubescent 10 year old. I wanted more confirmation, though, so I created an account on Bumble (where we originally met), and sure enough — there he was! Relationship over. Heartbroken. Lesson learned: Have the talk! — Kate, 42, New York
When a partner cheats and lies about it, it’s a maddening, powerful experience that can turn even the most sane, calm and loving woman into a raging but talented detective. Let us not forget, however, that men don’t always cover their tracks so well, and more often than not … the truth is revealed. And it sure does set us free!
Alicia Rihko
