Always trust your intuition! We have 40+ real stories about how people found out their partners were cheating. From surprising discoveries to gut feelings that something was wrong: these stories share the different ways people learned about betrayal in their relationships. Find out how trust was broken and the strength it takes to move on.
1. What A Surprise
My ex-husband and his family smoked a lot of pot, and still do. His sister, kids, and nanny were visiting from out of state for a few weeks. When it was time to fly home, they left their stash at my ex-MIL’s house because they didn’t want to take it on the plane.
My ex asked if I would pick it up because I was nearby. Stupidly I agree. I don’t smoke and I was willing to carry it in my car for him. To my surprise, I found a note from the nanny to my ex saying she was in love with him and she was so happy for the time they had together.
Obviously, she thought he would get the pot instead of me. While it was incredibly painful at the time, I am definitely living my best life 15 years later.
mycatsnameisjanet
2. He Thought He’s Smooth With It
My ex-husband was an early adopter of sending inappropriate pics.
I got his phone to get the numbers of his friends to invite them to a surprise birthday party while he was sleeping off a hangover, and there they were in his outbox.
BooksNShizzz
3. Family Betrayal
The worst one I know of is an acquaintance of mine, who came home from work one day and found his missus having intercourse with his dad.
That blew up all over social media and became a local drama fest where people tried to organize a shunning of the dad and missus.
I remember it well because, well... I know people cheat but with your partner's father? Come on...
[deleted]
4. Well That Was Smart
My wife was acting unusual for a few weeks. She would want to spend time by herself on the weekends and when she came home at night from work she would often sit in the driveway for 20 minutes on the phone.
I'm not dumb. I bought a voice-activated digital recorder and stuck it in her car. I knew what I needed to know in less than 24 hours.
joecooool418
5. Sweet Revenge
I was in the Navy and was out on deployment for 6 months after just recently getting engaged (it's one of those stupid things that young military guys do).
One day, I got a letter from my fiancée’s best friend telling me that she caught my fiancee and her BF together (this was years before email and smartphones were common).
We write back and forth several times and eventually, it comes out how she caught them, how my fiancée begged her not to tell me, and that the fiancée didn't know that we were corresponding.
I eventually got back to the States and planned to play it off as though I didn't know, but too many of my friends intercepted me with the news that it wasn't just the one guy, but several, and let me know that she knew that I was aware.
Eventually, we met, and the confrontation was minimal and tame. We broke off the engagement without a lot of drama - she kept the ring.
The best friend and I ended up hooking up, at first as sort of a revenge kind of thing but turned serious. We celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary this year.
HippyGeek
6. True Friends
I had some really good friends in the next town over where my girlfriend lived, and they figured it out for me.
They were super gentle about it, and patient with me through my denial.
ickyspinface
7. Trust Issues
We were together for 5 years, living together for around 4. I came home from work early. When I got out of my car, I saw her peek through the blinds to see who was outside.
I walked in the door to her coworker on the couch, obviously uncomfortable, clothes messy, and she was locked in the bathroom.
I wanted to pummel the hell out of him then and there, but he was a trained MMA fighter, and I would’ve left the house that night with more than a broken heart.
Went to a friend's house for a while. They started dating the next day. It sucks. It took a while for me to get trust back in relationships.
PM_ME_PINK_PANTHER
8. The Doctor Has Revealed The Truth
I went for my yearly check-up and tested positive for chlamydia. Turns out my ex was sleeping around.
Apparently, false positives are common with these types of tests so have your SO tested as well. I hope you're in a relationship where you can openly talk about such things.
needsmoreusername
9. Saved By The Doorbell
June 1, 2018. Normal day. A Friday. My husband had kissed me goodbye and gone to work. I was cleaning the house for the company who was coming to stay for the weekend. The doorbell rang.
There was a man at my door who introduced himself as the husband of a woman who my husband worked with. He was there to tell me that my husband and his wife were having an affair.
He had busted them about six months prior and had told his wife that she had to end the affair. He thinks that she did end it...for about three months, but then they started up again.
When he found out they were at it again, he called my husband (because he knew if he confronted him in person, he'd be in a jail cell for what he'd have done).
On the phone, he told my husband to leave his wife alone or else he would come and tell me everything that was happening. Apparently, my husband thought that he was bluffing.
So I was literally the last to know. My husband never came home again. He got a long-term room to stay and a lawyer. The divorce was on December 21, 2018. We had been together for 24 years. Still hurts.
headcase-and-a-half
10. What Should I Feel?
I caught my wife after she passed away from a serious disease.
Worst feeling ever. Caught between unending love, mourning, and absolute anger.
kjv1984
11. Easy Peasy
This is almost word for word how the convo went:
Me: Are you sleeping with so and so?
Her: Yeah.
Me: Wanna divorce?
Her: Kinda
Me: Ok, I’ll file tomorrow.
scm8809
12. What A Situation
We got married when I was 17, and he was 21. He was shipping off to sea, and I was escaping a bad home life.
When he came back after his deployment, he wasn't the same person anymore. After about 6 months, he gained weight on purpose to fail his physicals so he'd get kicked out of the Navy.
Fast forward a year, I'm working full time, and he is sitting at home, watching anime and drinking during the day, and telling me that he "was applying to jobs".
I was applying to universities when my laptop died on me. I asked to use his to finish an app, and while doing so a message popped up on his FB.
A topless pic of his ex, from her. I was shocked and opened it to find that they'd been dating for a loooong time (started again while he was at sea in the Navy, he would talk to her and never to me, saying that he never got the time to email).
She had sent him a pic because he had said how he missed having a “big chest” like hers to play with, and how mine were just too small so he felt like he was doing a boy.
I confronted him, he made a bunch of pitiful excuses. I had my friends come to the house that day and kick him out while I went to work.
He then stalked me for the next few years and made posts on his social media accounts about how I was a coward, he sent emails and called from blocked numbers to tell me that "a restraining order is just a piece of paper" or that 'our vows before God made me his property' and stuff like that.
Then he bought a gun, and started telling our friends that "if he can't have me, no one can". I ended up talking to our friends, and told everyone conflicting information about where I was going, and moved states.
I deleted all my personal social media accounts and lived in fear for years, watching him continually make memes about how he loved his wife and would do anything for her. It took 8 years for me to finally get a divorce from him.
[deleted]
13. Happy Birthday To Me… Or Not
I caught my ex dirty-talking with a chick online and telling her how he missed her on my birthday. I was young at the time and reacted with crying and yelling.
If it ever happened now I would just get up and leave. No point in trying to mend the relationship because it's nearly impossible to gain the trust that was lost.
spasamsd
14. A Happy Ending
I owned a house with my fiancée. I woke up in the middle of the night and he wasn’t in bed. I went searching. His truck and another vehicle were in the driveway.
Then, I went upstairs and found the guest bedroom was locked. After barging my way in... I found him with another woman in bed. That bed happened to be my childhood bed.
He forced me out of the room... literally grabbed me by the neck, pushed me out, and closed the door back. I knew I couldn’t do anything at that point, so I called his parents who lived a few blocks away. His dad showed up and another fight broke out.
I ended up leaving and staying with his parents until dawn. I moved out that weekend and let the house foreclose. 9 years later, it’s finally off my credit report, I’m happily married to an amazing man and we own a beautiful home together.
dddallasss
15. The Heartbreaking Truth
This first started back in December right before we went on a holiday trip to see my family. She started acting somewhat off, kinda distant, and easily aggravated.
I had a suspicion that something was going on and I’m embarrassed to admit that I snooped on her smartwatch. I found some incriminating texts she had with a friend, so I confronted her in January.
She tells me that she kissed a guy that she works with and that was it. We were having some issues in our relationship and I chose to forgive her and we decided to try working on some of the issues we were having.
Well, fast forward to this past May… she breaks down that she wasn’t honest with me and that she had actually slept with this other dude. We split after the news.
We had been together 8 years and had been engaged for almost 2 years. Our wedding date was supposed to be yesterday. It’s still killing me. I don’t even know where to go from here. 2020 was hell.
randyjohnsons
16. A Smart Way Of Finding Out
A friend of mine was suspicious of her husband cheating, as he went to "play soccer with friends" way too often. He always came already showered as he would sweat playing.
One day she sewed his soccer socks together, and when he came back all showered she saw the socks were still sewed, so he wasn't playing soccer at all.
imarangatu
17. Karma Exists
4yrs ago I was dating a girl who became distant and disinterested in a lot of things we both enjoyed together. Despite attempts to talk about it, she only grew more distant then became less available to hang out and suddenly was working late a lot.
I started getting suspicious about cheating when she was on her phone nonstop. Again I tried to talk about it but she wouldn't engage. She also just didn't want to break up with me for whatever reason.
I was actually going to end it on my own, but one weekend when she was seemingly unavailable, some mutual friends told me they spotted her with a dude from her work and they were all over each other.
Coincidentally, she had also lent me her tablet and it was synced to her phone so I saw lots of texts between those two over that weekend. They were talking about running away together, etc.
He was married and he was also her supervisor. Mutual friends were also composed of her coworkers and reported them to HR.
They were both forced to do training on not sleeping with coworkers, they were both denied promotion, his wife left him, and she moved overseas. Sucked at the time, I was devastated, but karma got them good.
nav17
18. I Won
I dated a girl for about two years. Like 18 months into the relationship, we’re talking about moving in together. Then kinda out of nowhere, she starts becoming distant and irritable. We ended up breaking up.
Fast forward 3 months after the breakup, I found that Facebook has a section where messages from non-friends are kept. Turns out my then-girlfriend was banging her ex and the delivery driver who delivered to her store at the mall.
She ended up getting with the delivery driver and his 3 kids. Last time I checked they’re miserable and it brings me joy every time I think about it.
TheLuo
19. She Got The Karma Coming Both Ways
It wasn’t a big dam-breaking moment. It was a lot of little things. Like how she’d cancel plans at the last second. Or the random phone calls from unknown numbers she’d get (this was back before spam calls were an epidemic), or how her phone was mysteriously off one night when I needed to get a hold of her.
I had my suspicions and then finally it clicked into place when I did some Instagram snooping and found a guy who followed her who posted a selfie wearing a very unique jacket that belonged to her.
I confronted her the next day. She denied it. Tears. Begging. All of that. I dumped her and walked away. The next day I messaged that guy on Instagram and he confirmed everything. He had no idea I existed. He dumped her too.
Last I heard she’s an EMT in Wyoming. Hope she figured out how not to be a garbage person.
guiltyofnothing
20. How Does That Even Make Sense?
I was at work and tried to call my boyfriend, but he wasn’t answering even after a few hours, and I just got a horrible feeling. It stressed me out so badly for some reason that I started to cry and my boss let me go home.
The whole way home I just kept feeling serious dread. I walked into the house and into my bedroom, and he was lying in bed half-clothed with some naked chick.
Obviously, a huge blowup went down, and after everything settled, this jerk tried to tell me that he went to the movies alone and met her there and she “followed him home.”
Like, even if I believe that this person just followed you home and got naked, you let her do it, so what’s the purpose of saying that to me? It was a bad abusive relationship, and it didn’t even end then.
I eventually broke up with him but not on the spot like I should have. If I could change anything about my life, it would be that I wish I had broken up with that guy sooner. That was over ten years ago though!
SunglassesBright
21. She Did The Right Thing
I found out he had signed up for a bunch of dating apps. He would message mutual acquaintances asking if they’d be up for massages, etc.
I blamed myself for years that he wasn’t interested in intercourse with me because I had a baby and gained a little weight. Nope. He just enjoyed contacting other women for intercourse.
We’re in the middle of our divorce now. He doesn’t understand why I’m wrecking our marriage because of a few indiscretions.
Compulsive-Gremlin
22. Gotcha!
He took a phone call from her in front of me and because, I guess, he thought he was being slick, he started flirting with her in front of me.
He ended up doing illegal things to me after the relationship was over and I got him in hot water for that. He never did it again and was told if he even talked to me again, he’d get fired. I ended up leaving that job a few months later.
aliveinjoburg2
23. That’s… Not Something To Be Proud Of
Back then, a social media app used to display on your profile stuff like “dontsayaword2 liked a photo” and everything you did. I noticed he liked a photo of a girl that seemed to be someone he had recently added.
So I checked her profile and she was one of those girls who think “they won” because men cheat on their partners with them. She had everything public, photos with him, bragging about the texts they exchanged, etc.
So I engineered a way to befriend her roommate, I would then find out she was bringing other dudes home besides my boyfriend and when I confronted him I also let him know about who else she was sleeping with and for him to get an STD test.
[deleted]
24. The Happy Ending I Wasn’t Expecting
I knew he had been unfaithful in the past but I didn’t really love him so it was not that bad. However, I was bartending one night and this drunk chick walked up and told me that I looked familiar.
She then proceeds to yell, “Oh my friend is doing your husband!”. So I walked into the beer keg cooler with a bottle of vodka. I downed some shots and went back to work.
I held it in that I knew for a few months while I hired an attorney and figured out my next move. I had three kids to think of too. So I moved with my kids back home to Texas and got divorced.
Now, I’m engaged to my childhood best friend and we plan to marry in Yosemite next year. He’s the complete opposite of my ex. Kind, supportive, and loving.
texasmermaid84
25. Blessing In Disguise
My ex-wife asked me for her blessing to commit adultery with another married man. She was shocked when I said I don't support it, she went ballistic (has severe mental health issues), and went and did it anyway.
She ended up in a psych ward. 2 marriages ended and now the two cheaters are engaged. I was a little devastated at first. Blessing in disguise.
thewiz187
26. What A… Nice Surprise
I had come home from a 5-month cruise. My GF at the time was a court stenographer. So when she wasn't at the pier I figured she had a case or was catching up on transcripts.
So I got a ride from my friend to see an unfamiliar car in my driveway. I walk in to see her blowing some stranger on my couch. Keep in mind this was my house, not hers. I didn't say a word to her.
I just started grabbing her stuff and throwing it in the front yard and called her father to come pick her up because her car was old and in the shop...again.
And up to that point, I was letting her drive mine until it was fixed. I will not bore you with the drama but she was taken by the MA's instead of her dad.
[deleted]
27. Not Your Fault, Buddy
I didn't catch her, she told me and told me I wasn't a real man and that's why she did it. She just told me everything she hated about me, went on to why I'm worthless pulled over, kicked me out of the car and I had to walk back to my place.
As far as my reaction went. I went home, cried, went to bed, stayed in bed for a few days, thought I was a terrible person for a few weeks, cut my holiday leave short, and went back to work early to get my mind off things.
Charming-Trashboi
28. Damn, That’s Deep
I caught my online-game girlfriend amanda411 dancing with some other guy in Lumbridge.
Some guy by the name of noobslayer94. How could you do this to me amanda411?!
aSheepNamedBaaaatman
29. Savage!
Not me but my cousin caught his fiancée cheating. He was away every few weeks for work while she stayed at home, doing nothing and refusing to find a job.
One day, he decides to come home early from a work trip to surprise her for their anniversary. He came home and found her doing some guy in the shower.
They didn't hear him come into the house or the bathroom. The first thing he did, he took out his phone, took a photo of them doing it, and send it to her mother. A class move if you ask me. He then dumped her and moved on.
discolexia
30. Well, That Took A Turn
So, I had the day off work. As I was making my way around the corner, I caught her cheating. She was on my street.
Then, I saw her slyly turn onto the next street and cheat. She was doing this so she wouldn't have to pay the rent. I'm never playing Monopoly with her ever again.
Zedfourkay
31. Sike!
My girlfriend went to visit her parents and friend, and when she came back, I just knew. I sat her down and apologized and told her I cheated while she was away.
She immediately nuked me with "Well guess what! I did too." When I told her that I actually hadn't slept with anyone and she'd just been faked out she was "displeased".
cranialdrain
32. Oh… Okay
I was dating a girl during college. I took her on a vacation to the beach where I had planned on proposing to her as we had been together 4+ years.
While she was in the shower, I checked her phone looking for something. I saw several pictures of her making out with someone from her college. This was happening for several months.
It was an awkward drive home for sure. I dropped her off at the airport the day after ending things. She ended up becoming an anti-vax and essential oils believer so dodged a bullet there.
PortDawgs
33. He Deserved That
I had a long-term relationship for 3 years. I took him to the hospital because he had unknown rashes on him. Long story short, he was diagnosed with syphilis.
I was tested and I didn’t have it (no idea how I dodged that). I got treated anyway. I was so stupid in my early twenties.
NoraBora_FeFora
34. Strong Gut Feeling
Not making this up. I felt it from 2,600 miles away as a sudden disturbance that woke me out of a sound sleep.
I found out by calling to ask about what happened then. Still happily married, but it took a lot of time to work through it.
RichardBonham
35. Not The Typical Doc Appointment
My fiancée called after a visit to Nashville and I sensed something and asked her "Did something happen in Nashville that you're embarrassed about?"
"Why would you ask that?"
"Whenever you mention your Nashville trip, I can hear it in your voice."
"Oh, you know me so well! Yeah, I had an unexpected gyno exam while I was there, that's probably it."
I believed that. She confessed what really happened shortly after on the sixth anniversary of our first date. It was a gyno exam, alright, but it wasn't with a doctor.
She married him wearing the dress she'd made for our wedding. I didn't date for another 10 years after that.
Bedbouncer
36. Not Cool
I caught him dirty talking over text with my best friend. It was horrible, I lost a bunch of friends and became kind of a loner.
I dumped him 6 years later. I really should have done it much much sooner.
KiriDomo
37. It’s Not Acceptable Either Way
He was sorting through his pictures and a naked lady caught my eye. So later that day I went through his phone (I would never usually do this) and found many naked girls on his phone, screenshots of snaps.
I also found pictures of me I didn't know he took. I called my best friend and cried. She told me to confront him so I did. His response was it's normal for men to keep their adult materials on their phones and was smug about his response until I mentioned they were screenshots.
vanil_lily
38. As She Should!
He was overcompensating when we were having intercourse. New styles and adventures in the bedroom.
One day he slipped up by connecting my laptop to his phone and I saw the text messages. I hired a private investigator to get pictures and consulted a lawyer.
When I confronted him with the evidence, he was shellshocked. We had an at-fault divorce. He lost almost everything, the cars, houses, and joint accounts. We don't talk unless my alimony is late. I moved to a different state in case he became vengeful.
Anxious_Try
39. Finding Out Nasty Details
My ex-wife and I moved across the country for her job. I’m a teacher, so I can get work just about anywhere. She decides to get her CPA, and apparently, there are like 8 separate tests. I really don’t remember, but she had a study group on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights.
Except Sunday was when she and her boss would frolic at his house while his wife went to her parents every Sunday. I only found out because she mistruck her keyboard, auto-filled my email, and her details of the joy of how he pounded her in the hammock came as a shock.
[deleted]
40. That’s Not Gonna Happen, Miss
Not me but my sister-in-law, she was 7 months pregnant and her husband's phone was going off during the night.
She picked it up and looked at it when he went to the bathroom and it was a text from a girl talking about how excited she was to be a step-mom.
loreleilies
41. At Least She Recognized
I was engaged at the time, in my early 20s (I'm 33 and married to a different woman now). I didn't really catch her, she turned herself in on it. I was super numb over it, avoided her, and blew lots of money on stuff and activities to try and get over it.
I never did, and ended up leaving her a month before our wedding. It sucked, and I was not in any way equipped to handle that situation.
tophdout
42. A Cowardly Move
He brought a girl to my work, while I was working. He was a person who had a hard time being physical with others, but his hand was on her lower back and he was rubbing it/ kept pulling her close in a type of side hug.
He'd been ghosting me for about two weeks at that time, and he knew my work schedule. Two weeks of no contact, but the second I texted him to go off about what he'd just done, he learned how to use his phone again.
I honestly think he was too much of a coward to break up with me, which was incredibly insulting since we were both coming from long-term relationships where our exes had cheated on us.
TourmalineDreams
43. Double Life
I found a picture on social media of him with a newborn baby, captioned by the other woman,
“Handsome husband and cute baby, I’m so proud”. We’d been together for 9 years and our kids were 6 and 8.
lolo-2020
44. Gaming With The Other Woman
It was a few weeks ago. I noticed he moved up many levels in the game in such a short amount of time.
That’s when I knew he was cheating and was looking up videos on how to complete certain complex quests he was stumped on. I was appalled, yet very understanding.
trwwy321
45. That Must’ve Hurt
I went to bed, and left my husband and a mutual (female) friend downstairs drinking.
I went down to say one last goodnight, and they were out back smoking. Opened the back door, and they fell on top of me, clothes in the process of being removed, her lipstick all over his face and neck. We’re mid-divorce.
SmurfESmurferson