Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
A frustrated boyfriend made the rash decision to expose his girlfriend for cheating on her birthday in front of all her friends and family.
Hoping to find clarity, the 27-year-old man shared his side of the situation on Reddit, offering details to readers in the popular confession forum, Am I The A**hole. However, after hearing his story, the internet can’t decide whether his actions were valid given the circumstances.
The original poster explained how he had been with his 26-year-old girlfriend for three years. As far as he knew, their relationship was great. They were planning their future, discussing moving in together and getting married. Everything between them seemed to progress healthily until she started acting “weird.”
“She started to have some weird characteristics unlike hers like coming home late, and drunk, being secretive with her phone, and making excuses to avoid spending time together,” he admitted. “For like a week I tried to study and get to know where all this was coming from and to make it worse I started to think I was the problem why she is behaving like that.”
Amid his mental spiral, the Reddit user sought answers from his girlfriend’s phone while she was sleeping. He went directly to her messages with her best friend because he knew this was where the “secrets” would be. To his dismay, he found out his girlfriend was having an affair with one of his friends.
Shocked, the Redditor confronted his girlfriend and showed her the messages he’d found confirming what he now knew. Yet, his girlfriend denied everything.
“She said they were just joking around and that I was being paranoid,” he confessed. “I didn’t buy it, but I didn’t push further.”
Though he didn’t press the matter, what he’d seen weighed on his mind. Then, at her birthday party, everything came to a head. Not only were his girlfriend’s friends and family there, but his friend who was allegedly having an affair with his girlfriend was invited, too.
The Reddit writer admitted: “I said to myself I could keep hurting and pretending I’m okay.
“So after the eating and dancing it was time to talk,” he continued. “I decided to talk last as i wanted to hear how everybody praised our relationship then prove them wrong.”
Without dropping the bomb immediately, the Redditor spoke about loyalty and trust. In the end, he told everyone in the room she was cheating on him. But not just that, the Reddit user took it upon himself to send the entire birthday group chat screenshots of the message he’d found.
The audience was perplexed. The Reddit writer’s girlfriend allegedly ran out in tears. No one was pleased with what he had done.
“Her family and friends came at me for humiliating her on her precious day,” he said. “I left shortly after, feeling a mix of anger and relief.”
Reading through the Reddit user’s story, viewers couldn’t decide whether he’d done the right thing. The internet was sent into a frenzy, prompting a massive debate in the comments section.
Some argued it would have been better had the boyfriend acted as the “bigger person,” while others thought he’d done a fine job sticking up for himself.
One opinionated person remarked: “I believe in being the bigger person but like sometimes it be like who gives a f*** about being the bigger person so I’m torn. Meh she deserved it.”
“Maybe more people need to be humiliated for their behavior. It might make them think twice before doing it again,” a blunt reader suggested.
A third commented: “If you are laying all the blame on your ex, but letting him slide you are being a MAJOR AH to yourself.”
“That should have been handled privately. She may have cheated but you’re straight up cruel,” an opposer argued.
But another supporter thought: “There’s no rules on handling cheaters. It’s free for all.”
