Private investigators share five major signs you’re dating a cheater

A team of private investigators have sparked a conversation about dating, after revealing some key ways to tell if your partner is cheating on you.

In the bio of their TikTok, @downunderinvestigations describes themselves as “Licensed and Experienced Private Investigators” based in Australia. On the app, they frequently post videos about the kind of work they do as a private detectives and some of things they’ve learned on the job.

In a recent clip, one of the investigators posted a video of the road in front of him, while driving, and listed the “top five signs that you’ve got a cheater on your hands”.

He then quickly described all of the traits that a cheater could exhibit, explaining: “They lie about big things and small things, they get excessively defensive, they gaslight, they accuse you of cheating, and they have a history of cheating.”

The investigator then asked viewers to share “any other signs of a potential cheater” in the comments of the video, which has more than 20,300, prompting a wide range of responses from TikTok users.

“Sudden interest in their own appearance and weight,” one person wrote, to which @downunderinvestigations responded: “Totally agree! New clothes, obsession with perfume/aftershave, more time showering and washing [their] own clothes.”

In the comments, the private investigator also noted that if you notice certain changes to your partner’s phone and how they act around it, that could be a potential sign of cheating.

Viewers also shared specific examples of that change in behaviour, including how significant others’ “phones are suddenly flat, or on silent all the time” and “they guard their phone like the FBI”.

Even more viewers went on to share tips for spotting a cheater.

“Their phone rings in front of you all the time and they don’t take the call,” one wrote. There are always messages coming up on it. The story keeps changing.”

“They are paranoid,” another added. “They want to know who is calling us, trying to investigate to see if WE are cheating and look through [Facebook] friends list to see guys.”

In 2020, private investigator Tom Martin spoke to The Independent and detailed the top 20 clues that your partner is cheating, some of which include a change in their habits, leaving the house early and returning late, and unexplained spending.

The Independent has contacted @downunderinvestigations for comment.