The Cut - How to Catch a Cheater

For anyone with a wandering eye, it’s easier than ever to find a new lover. At any moment, people hoping to cheat can swipe through a roster of potential hookups within a one-mile radius who are willing to snap dick pics, send dirty voice notes, or meet for a quickie. They can have emotional affairs and coordinate an illicit weekend getaway over Instagram DMs all while an unsuspecting spouse lies beside them in bed, unable to tell whether their partner is doomscrolling or sexting.

Our addiction to our devices may have an upside, though, when it comes to exposing infidelity. Instead of waiting by a landline to intercept a mistress’s call, suspicious partners can use apps, location trackers, and catfishing to confirm their worst fears. “There’s a digital imprint everywhere you go,” says Robin Martinelli, owner of the private-investigation firm Martinelli Investigations, Inc. “There are emails and text messages and people leaving their iPads and computers open.” Infidelity allegations make up 95 percent of her business, because in Georgia, where she lives, proven adultery can influence alimony awards in divorce cases (most private investigators I spoke with said these kinds of clients are split evenly between men and women). To gather evidence, some situations may call for higher-tech solutions, like a voice-activated pen or Ring camera, while others may be better suited to some gumshoe detectivework. I spoke with PIs, loyalty testers, and therapists about the trade secrets they use to suss out and prove an affair.

Digging into what the polls say about a Harris v. Trump matchup. On that subject, Aaron Sorkin had a change of heart. Parenting is a full-time job — even when you’re competing in the Olympics. Real-life Peruvian Paddington bears are in danger from climate change and their human neighbors. It’s “almost impossible” to eliminate toxic PFAS from your diet. Here’s what you can do. Meet the fashionable WAGs of women’s sports. And “Money can’t buy happiness” is maybe just a lie told to keep the lower classes complacent.

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