It's one thing suspecting your partner might be playing away behind your back, but it's another thing entirely to hire a private investigator in the hope of catching them out.
That said, however, apparently it's pretty common nowadays to do so.
And as such, one professional PI - who has seemingly been inundated with enquiries recently - has issued a warning about the most common indicators that your other-half really is cheating on you.
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Aaron Bond has made a living catching out adulterous individuals, and in the 15 years since taking on his highly-intense career, he claims to have learnt a lot about deceitful behaviour.
He's also picked up on how to tell if a romantic is jumping the gun when it comes to suspected cheating.
Bond's experience has recently spurred him to reveal his findings to others in the hope of prompting happier and honest relationships between his followers.
So, without further ado, let's look at the genuine, most realistic indicators that your partner might be carrying on with someone else.
Their interest in you suddenly surges
Weirdly, Bond says that an increased amount of attentiveness from your partner may be a bad sign.
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This relit spark could be emotional - in that they could suddenly become more talkative, more curious about your day-to-day and keener to treat you - or physical.
The latter could result in a sudden surge in sex life, but may also be a hint that your partner is overcompensating for something they're doing behind your back.
"We've seen this a lot in our time as private investigators, a relationship doesn't seem to have that spark anymore and then all of a sudden it does," he explained.
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"While I'm sure sometimes this can be genuine as someone may be trying to fight to keep their relationship alive, In my experience it's often used to cover up their tracks of them cheating on you."
Additional email accounts
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Often, to cover their tracks, cheaters acquire separate email accounts, social media profiles and sometimes even separate phone numbers to stop you from ever finding out they've been intimately communicating with someone else.
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"With additional accounts, they can hide everything from you," Bond explained. "Including their messages, naughty images, and everything else in between.
"While it's difficult to find if your partner has other accounts, what you may notice is that they almost become defensive around you with their phone.
"They may be cautious of opening certain apps or they may shield the phone away from you."
They're away from home with 'work' a lot...
Does your partner suddenly work away from home a lot more than usual, despite having a job that's close to home?
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Conferences abroad? Out of hours meetings with clients?
Well, it may be that they're planning meet-ups with their secret significant other...
"Deceitful people will use the ruse of work to cover up their cheating tracks simply because it's hard to prove otherwise," Bond explained.
"What you need to look out for is a pattern that is out of the ordinary for them. Have they all of a sudden started to stay late on a certain day or time of the month?"
Using cash more than their credit card
Suspicious partners often catch their other-half cheating by checking their bank statements to look at whether they've been spending time - and money - on someone else.
A payment for a dinner for two at a swanky restaurant you've never been to may have previously caught them out, as could a receipt from a jewellers you've never received a gift from.
Nowadays, however, Bond says cheaters have clocked onto this and will use cash instead to remove traces of a digital footprint.
"Our society is getting to a place where cash isn't used as much as credit and debit cards," Bond added.
"Using cash isn't a red flag, but if you have a joint account or have access to each other's statements and you see more cash withdrawals than usual then it's a sign that your partner is hiding something."
Topics: Sex and Relationships
Rhianna Benson