When my husband Tony got promoted, we moved from the mountains to a small town in Illinois. I was excited to support him, but adjusting was harder than I expected. I’m socially awkward, with two toddlers, and felt isolated. The only familiar faces were a young couple, Lauren and Matt, who moved for work too. Lauren was friendly, but we weren’t close. One day, Lauren messaged me with news I didn’t want to hear—Tony had set up a cozy lunch spot on the roof at work, but he wasn’t eating alone. Instead, he was spending every lunch with his 22-year-old receptionist, Becky. Lauren even sent me Becky’s Instagram, where I quickly saw Tony had liked all her selfies. It stung because he had lied, saying he ate up there by himself.
At first, I wasn’t angry with Becky. She probably didn’t even know I existed since some of Tony’s coworkers were surprised he was married. Instead, I decided to stay silent and plot my move. If Tony was liking all her posts, then I’d do the same. No comments. No follow requests. Just the exact same likes. My hope was that Becky would notice, check my profile, and realize Tony’s married with kids. That subtle message would force her to think twice about what was really going on. If it was innocent, she’d be confused, but if it wasn’t, she’d be on notice. And I knew Tony would freak out when he found out.
Sure enough, Tony blew up when he realized something was happening. He called me, saying I could get him fired over my “drama” and accused me of being invasive and unprofessional. But honestly, to me, cheating with your receptionist is what could cost your job—not your wife liking a few Instagram pictures. He kept downplaying everything, claiming I was overreacting and making him look bad. It hurt knowing he didn’t respect our marriage enough to be honest. Yet, I also wondered if I had gone too far by quietly spying instead of confronting him directly. Was I being crazy, or was this the only way to expose the truth?
Now, I’m left with a mixture of anger, doubt, and sadness. I feel blindsided that my husband betrayed my trust so blatantly, yet I wonder what to do next. Do I try to salvage this marriage, or do I protect myself and our kids? The uncertainty is crushing, but I know one thing: trust is fragile, and once broken, it’s hard to put back together. I did what I thought I had to do—to set a trap and uncover the truth. Now, the next steps are mine to decide.
