Today's burning question from Redditor DEDCMDM94––"What is your "accidentally caught your spouse" cheating horror story?"––might ring rather personally for some of you.
Warning: There's some rather sensitive content ahead.
"He was so exhausted..."
Not me but a medical resident who I met on rotation recently. One of the nicest guy I ever met, super intelligent and hardworking, and training to be a trauma surgeon by humble as they come. He had been married for 2 years to his wife. One night he gets off a 30 hour call early and heads home to surprise his wife with some flowers and her favorite dessert (it was the anniversary of the day they first met). Only to find her in bed with a random dude.
He was so exhausted and confused, he didn't know what to do and just left and went back to the hospital. I saw him at 5AM, sitting in the parking lot, hunched over crying. He didn't even have his phone with him, he was just sitting there. Man, nothing breaks your heart more than seeing a grown man cry, it's not something you see often. We called his dad up and he came and picked him up, the guy ended up taking a leave from his residency. Turns out, it wasn't the wife's first time sleeping around. Hope he gets back on his feet, he will make an amazing physician.
"On family vacation..."
On family vacation, I picked up his phone because I was bored and the kids were playing on mine. Saw a message to some girl describing the sex he and I had the night before. Spent the rest of the vacation fighting via text while trying (and failing) to act normal.
"Friend of mine..."
Friend of mine was hanging out with some guys at a bar and went home to chill with them. He asked how they knew my girlfriend at the time (realized she was a mutual friend at the bar). Guy said she was f*ck buddies with his friend. My friend was confused and mentioned she was the girlfriend of a friend of his (me) to which his response was "Oh, I hope you're not good enough of friends to have to tell him."
"Had a really close group..."
Had a really close group of friends who would always prank each other. One of my mates found out the Facebook password of another, so while on Skype the whole call - included myself, logged into his Facebook account (being 7 people) to make a stupid status. At the same time my partner of 5 years was messaging him on Facebook about how good sex was last night and about meeting up again.
"It gets worse..."
College girlfriend and we lived together for a year after I realized she would always have her phone on silent or just plain ignore calls from "Jennifer." One day I write down the number and call it a week later. It ends up being her other boyfriend who she had never broken up with before she came to college. Neither of us knew about each other and she had being visiting him when she went home to see her parents on some weekends and breaks. Broke up soon after and her mom said that sometimes you just have to accept things and how I owed her an apology for breaking up with her. It gets worse but that was the gist.
"Walked in on my girlfriend..."
Walked in on my girlfriend while she was having sex with another guy. "What are you doing here?!" she says. "You gave me a key, remember? I ended up not working today and wanted to surprise you."
15 years later she reaches out, leaves me a message that she'd like to talk. I figure she's doing some 12-step thing or something and wants to make amends.
Nope. She wanted to try and sell me on Amway.
"This sent my unit home..."
Mt St Augustine erupted in Alaska in 1986. They had to evacuate all planes out of Elmendorf AFB due to ash in the air. This sent my unit home from Korea 3 days early. I got home at 2 AM and there was a guy sleeping next to my wife in our bed.
"I just got off work..."
I just got off work after working the graveyard shift, I walk into my apartment with my fiance riding some guy she met at a party on my futon which they broke. I walked out with so much rage and broken feelings, I went to my car and cried.
"Found my wife's notebook."
Found my wife's notebook. Written on the first page was a 10-step plan detailing how she was going to leave me for another guy.
I turned it into one step.
"Her phone went off..."
Her phone went off and she asked me what it said. I looked at it and it said, "I wanna bend you over and spank you."
"Woke up to her..."
Woke up to her on her phone with hearts scrolling in Facebook Messenger.
We were married 7 years at that point. 2 kids.
It was my birthday.
"We argued..."
Came home early. They were fast enough to get dressed but not in a natural state of being, if that makes sense. It was obvious something was just going down. Very cliched "got walked in on and tried to play it cool" like you see in tv. I asked him to leave and he did.
We argued, she tried to lie but soon confessed. It wasn't the first time she cheated but it was the first time that I caught her in the act. Everything in the past was just texts and stuff. She said that she never slept with the other people and it was just pics and flirting. In retrospect, that may not be BS.
We divorced, both remarried. Not friends by any stretch, but civil.
"Went to log into email..."
Went to log into email and a suggested one that I didn't recognize popped up. I answered all his security questions, and reset his password to find emails between him and the neighbor. We were in therapy to recover from him cheating with her and there they were waxing poetic about their love and when I'd be out of the house so they could be together. The actual horror sorry is that our 7 year old daughter is the one who accidentally caught them originally by walking into our bedroom while I was at work.
"Girlfriend ran over her phone
Girlfriend ran over her phone by accident and destroyed the screen.
Asked me to backup all her stuff and transfer it to her new Pixel
Use backup tool that captures all sorts of dirty messages and nudes with another guy.
"Early 2000s..."
Early 2000s, my friend's husband was deployed to Iraq. Together, they had a 10 year old son and a happy marriage. One day, while he was deployed, I am at home when another one of our friends calls and screams "Holy Sh!t, turn on the news right now!" I turn it on to watch a human interest story about a fundraiser at a high school 30 miles away. They're doing Relay for Life or something, and as a "surprise" to one of the participants, they had her "husband" and father of her two grade school children do a video call from Iraq, and displayed it on the football jumbotron.
There on our local news is my friend's husband, telling another woman and two kids how he loves them and can't wait to get back home to them. The news eats it up, about what a great guy he is. That night, our group of friends convened and decided how we would tell her. I was nominated, so the next day I had to sit her down and tell her what we saw. She called the news station, and they were happy to let her come in and watch the story. They were also incredibly apologetic.
Story has a somewhat crappy ending, I'm afraid. She called him out on his bs, they started divorce proceedings, and he went on to legally marry the mother of his other kids, and mostly ignored his son from the first marriage.
"Ex..."
Ex didn't realize her Iphone and Ipad messages were synced. Interesting texts started popping up on it.
"When I was 18..."
My spouse has never cheated on me, but one of my exes did.
When I was 18 I was having some trouble with my partner at the time over disagreements regarding sex (I was not wanting to do it but he wanted to). Eventually, at some point, we had a fight and from there things sort of were tense and weird. I can't really remember what exactly was said or how it went down entirely, as it was a bit over a decade ago but, in a nutshell, it sort of just erupted after a while.
The next week me, my mom and my sister were getting ready to go on a summer weekend trip to the beach, which we always did as a family despite divorces and such. Mom knew my ex and I were struggling and asked if I would like to bring him on the trip. I was really excited and texted asking if he wanted to go, but he declined and said he would see me afterwards.
That weekend I kind of felt like things were over; didn't want to admit it but I felt like either I'd be dumped soon or we would fight again and it would just end from there. I think Mom also felt this way because we had a talk during a beach stroll about relationships, and she called my crap and asked if I was actually committed to him, or being in denial. Considering how strained things with Mom and I were at the time, I appreciated the talk.
I am rambling, lol. Long story short, we ended up getting home earlier than expected on Sunday, and so I texted him saying I was gonna come see him. I never heard back, and he wasn't home when I got there- but when I got back home, he called me and confessed he had slept at another person's place all weekend.
Afterwards we texted and I asked if we were done and he said we were. I remember I got him a gift of some kind and he offered to bring it back, but I said he could keep it. I was pretty sad and I cried for a while; he actually called me back later and we broke up properly and amicably, and while he cheated and he apologized for it, I didn't really feel like I could blame him. In retrospect I appreciate that he was honest with me and that we broke up on decent terms.
In the end, Mom was absolutely right. I liked him but I didn't love him, and while she didn't want her kids having sex before marriage, she knew that if I actually felt committed to him, I wouldn't have hesitated so much. I was afraid of things like STD's, and I was wrong in how I asked him if he'd been tested. I realized all the mistakes I made in the process, too, and while I never regretted my decision to not have sex with him, the way I went about the matter wasn't very considerate. I grew a lot from the experience.
"I went off to college..."
I went off to college he was 2 hours away. I would see him on the weekends and everything seemed fine. I took a bus back to see him for our 1 year anniversary. Planned to stay with him all weekend. Made a huge basket of everything he loved and picked up his favorite dinner. Walked in on him with another girl. He made me leave so he could finish and then came out to dump me to "move to a trap house" so he could "have wild drug sex". I didn't have a place to stay with such short notice so I crashed at his place anyway and slept on the couch while he and the other girl shared the bed. Called a friend in the morning and spent the rest of the weekend elsewhere.
"Made me a lot more cautious..."
Came home from college and started dating a dude in a touring band (first mistake). Honestly, I wasn't looking for a relationship, but he was kind and expressed he really wanted to be together, so I gave it a chance.
Broke up with me a few months later, very suddenly. I was shocked and heartbroken. Told me that he was moving to another city to bartend (he didn't drink nor did he have any connections to that city). Moves in with some girl that I knew through a lot of mutual friends.
One night, sitting with all my girlfriends, and one of them bursts into tears saying she knew he had another relationship the entire time. First reaction, "Why are YOU crying?" Next was to see if he had the courage to tell me the true.
He refused to take my calls, but through mutual friends I was able to reach the 'other' girlfriend. I was very respectful and sent her a message under the assumption she didn't know I existed. Of course, she did, and simply said they were not in a committed relationship, so he had done nothing wrong to her. Didn't otherwise see it as a character flaw on his part.
Cut to two years later, he finally apologizes to me... and tells me she cheated on him after they moved to two different cities together. Justice served.
Honestly, thankful it happened. Made me a lot more cautious and careful about who to let in and pretty damn numb to people's fuckery.
"Went on a week's trip..."
Went on a week's trip to New York with him. It was our last day and I was packing while he was in the shower. His phone lights up, there's a few messages from a girl who was saying some pretty dirty things to a guy who had a girlfriend.
He came out from the bathroom, I asked what this was and he couldn't explain himself. I said nothing, went about my day while he was struggling wanting to 'talk about it' and checked in individually for our flight to Paris (which was a 'surprise' from him) and back home.
Found out that he was cheating with his colleague from work at an especially trying time for me at my new job where I was on set for 20 hours for a consecutive period. I took a separate cab the moment I got out of customs and packed all my shit & left. Never spoke to him again.
DQ: What's your cheating horror story?
Redditor notViperX was curious to hear all the things people believed every modern teenager needs to know, leading them to ask:
"Adults of Reddit, what is something every Teenager needs to know?"
No Means No!
"It's ok to say no to anyone."
"Don't let anyone in your life guilt trip you into doing something you don't want to do or are uncomfortable with."- Purpleraven01
What Constitutes Being "Cool" Is Debatable...
"It's exactly as lame to not do something you want to do because it's too mainstream or popular as it is to do something only because it's cool and the cool kids are doing it."- itsacalamity
Pay Attention in Gym And Spanish Class!
"Learn a second language."
"It's good for your brain, and it's a lot easier when you're young."
"Get active and fit; make it a habit."
"This is one of the most important ways to stave off cognitive decline as you get older."
"Plus, it's great for managing mental health during the transition to adulthood."- HappyHappyKidney
will ferrell anchorman GIFGiphyPut Those Pennies In The Bank!
"Start trying to save money now."
"You will definitely thank yourself later on."- Lastnight97
Sometimes Being Wrong Is The Only Way To Learn You're Right
"Failing is okay."- 2Graves1Ashe
People Are Always Willing To Help!
"When you make a mistake, own up to it."
"People are more willing to help you when you admit you did a dumb thing."
"This goes for school, work, and personal life."
"Forget to make a payment on a loan?"
"Call and talk to the finance company."
"Mess something up on a school project?"
"Tell your teacher and ask for a bit of leeway, Etc."
"People will be more likely to help you if you communicate."
"Start your retirement fund as early as possible."
"Doesn’t matter if you can only afford $5 a week, it’s still $5 more than you would have had otherwise."
"It WILL add up and you’ll thank yourself later."- GreenOnionCrusader
help me 80s GIFGiphyFollow Your Dream, But Have A Safety Net
"Get a marketable skill, unskilled labor sucks."
"You need something that’s going to pay you, it doesn’t have to be your life’s passion, contrary to what my peers were saying at that age, but you do need to be able to tolerate it."-sweetperdition
"If you don't have a passion, learn new skills."
"You might find your passion or something you're good at."- checkmatelocked
Better Safe Than Sorry
"Cashiers don't care if you buy condoms."- induceddaftfan
Safe Sex Love GIF by DUREXGiphyLooking back at things we wish we knew or had done differently will never end up doing us any good.
But giving this advice to young people could save them a world full of trouble.
Rather than mope about the past, we can help improve the future.
"Doctors of Reddit, what's the biggest case of 'faking it' you've ever seen?"
That's One Large Pain Threshold...
"Taking trauma call during surgery residency, had a prisoner come in after a fight and claimed he couldn’t move or feel his legs."
"All the CT scans and MRIs were normal, but we would shield his legs so he couldn’t see them and poke them with needles and other sharp objects, with enough force to cause pain- he never flinched or moved his legs at all."
"He was diagnosed with SCIWORA, spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality."
"He stayed in the hospital for a week, no improvement."
"Always had one guard with him."
"One night they were down in the lobby watching some television but the guard needed to use the restroom."
"The patient said, 'where could I possibly go?'"
"I’m paralyzed!'"
"Guard left him alone for two minutes."
"Patient last seen sprinting down the road, naked butt cheeks flapping in the breeze."
"Made it to a city four hours away by car before he was caught again."
"I have never seen anyone fake it so well."
"Truly playing the long con!"- Wine_and_sunshine
season 8 episode 23 GIFGiphyYou'll Have To Do Better Than That...
"Dermatologist here."
"Patient was convinced she had a melanoma and needed a biopsy and would need to be on workers comp."
"I told her it looked like ink from a marker."
"She demanded a biopsy."
"I wiped the area off with an alcohol swab and showed her the ink and that there was no spot on her skin anymore."
"She stormed out threatening to sue."
"I'm just glad I cured her melanoma."- Richter915
No Complaints Here...
"Had a patient come in for a fall who now couldn’t move their legs at all."
"Did a bunch of tests, didn’t find anything."
"The patient was not at all phased by suddenly being paralyzed which was the first red flag."
"Didn’t really believe anything was wrong but the patient was still not moving their legs."
"My options are to admit for a huge work up or get them to walk."
"So I update them saying everything is fine, tests are negative, you can go home."
"Patient gets up, gets dressed and walks out without a word."- meropenem24
There's Clearly One Issue She Wasn't Faking...
"Not a doctor but worked in health care for nearly 20yrs."
"While taking a break from the ICU, due to it being emotionally draining, I worked in home health for a bit."
"I had a patient who clearly had Munchausen syndrome."
"On a daily basis she would call her insurance to see what things would be covered if she was diagnosed with this or that."
"She called her Doctor's office an average of 5x during my shift with her, she would report all kinds of non real symptoms."
"She pestered the doctors into doing exploitive laparoscopic surgery, of course nothing was found."
"One day I walked in and she was rubbing her incisions with rotten cabbage trying to get it infected."
"She wasn't seeking pain meds, except to sell, really she was just as happy with antibiotics or stool softeners, anything, as long as they wrote her a prescription and she got to go to the pharmacy where she did a whole song and dance for them too, claiming allergies and reactions."
"She always increased the exaggeration of her story too."
"One time she fluttered her eyes, after making sure I was looking, and said she lost consciousness in that half a second."
"She called the doctor and claimed she lost consciousness for 5mins, she called the insurance and claimed it was 10min, she called the pharmacy and claimed it was 30min, then she called 911 and told them she woke up on the floor after losing consciousness for 4hrs."
"The worst thing about her was she was a mom."
"Her son was 28 at the time and by all the stories of his childhood illnesses and all her saying how he is severely disabled I knew she basically f**ked up his childhood with Munchausen by proxy."
"She portrayed him as being severely disabled and that's why he would never find a wife."
"I met him, he was healthy and of average intelligence."
"He wasn't looking for a wife, he was gay, but she refused to accept that."
"Working with her was so miserable that I took a couple years off from any and all healthcare after that."- invisible_for_this
GiphyShe Only Thought She Was Faking It.
"Young, 18-20, Woman went running into small rural hospital ER pretending to have abdominal pain."
"Police officer had tagged her going 40+km over the limit which was ‘stunt driving’ as per the new law in Ontario, impound and licsence suspension automatic."
"Cop followed her into ER and apparently said he’d be waiting for her when she left."
"Locum staff such as myself were housed at a small B&B about 15 mins away, and the ER had pre-printed order sets to be done before we arrived."
"When I arrived she flat out admitted that she just came in because she freaked out and didn’t stop."
"I told her we’d give her 45 mins to call her parents/family before I booted her."
"Except, bHCG came back positive, and subsequent ultrasound came back showing extremely early ectopic."
"Officer figures out something is up when he hears air ambulance call come in over radio."
"She was completely asymptomatic and just worked out that she dodged both charges and a life-threatening issue by accident."
"It was definitely a WTF moment."
"A little more info, small rural hospitals in Northern Ontario often service areas from more than an hours drive away and still only have a catchment area of 2000-3000 people."
"When on-call it was just that, we would do our days in the community clinic, then maybe hospital rounds, then go home and be on call; we wouldn’t be at the hospital, there wasn’t an on-call room where you would stay for example."
"There were lots of times that you’d go a full night without being woken up, or maybe just a call from the acute care inpatient wing."
"Locums were short term contracts for places that didn’t have full time medical staff for whatever reason."
"It’s hard to attract clinicians if you don’t even have broadband internet in the community."
"They generally pay very well."- Graigori
It's hard to blame someone for faking illness to get out of something that they really don't want to do.
But when you actually try to get doctors involved in your deception, you might want to question if it's really worth it.
After all, let's not forget the story of "the boy who cried wolf"...
