Cheating boyfriend caught by small car detail

A woman has shared the sneaky trick she used to catch out her cheating partner – and it turns out it’s not all that rare.

A woman discovered her boyfriend was cheating on her after sitting in his car and noticing a small detail on the passenger mirror.

In a brief TikTok clip with over 11.5 million views, she showed her followers his car mirror and zoomed in on distinct markings left by an Octobuddy smartphone accessory.

An Octobuddy is a silicone suction pad that attaches to a phone and sticks to flat surfaces, allowing people to take selfies and videos in places like cars.

“Crazy because this is how I found out about the other girl,” the woman wrote over the seven-second clip.

It’s not the first time someone has caught their partner cheating by noticing a small, seemingly insignificant detail.

According to Cassie Crofts, founder of the Australian private investigation firm Venus Investigations, it’s relatively common.

Small details that could be a sign of cheating

“One client grew suspicious when she noticed the eggplant emoji in her boyfriend’s frequently used section, despite never receiving one from him,” Ms Crofts told news.com.au, referring to the vegetable emoji that is used as a replacement for male genitalia.

“It seemed trivial, but it turned out he was sending flirty messages to someone else.”

In another case, a woman suspected her husband was cheating not because of his behaviour, but due to his best friend’s.

“Her and the friend had always gotten on well, and then suddenly he was avoiding her and wouldn’t really look her in the eye,” she explained.

“Turns out, he knew about the affair and disapproved, making it hard for him to act normally around her.”

A woman caught her partner cheating through noticing these marks on his car mirror. Image: TikTok

Signs to look out for

Ms Crofts also shared another unusual clue to look out for: a sudden shift in your partner using cash instead of cards.

“When everything is usually traceable through a bank statement, unexplained cash withdrawals can suggest they’re hiding romantic dinners or hotel stays,” she pointed out.

Another small sign is that you keep finding clothes in the laundry basket that you’ve never seen them wearing.

She said they’ve likely worn those to meet their affair partner and then quickly changed before you got home.

Cassie Crofts is a private investigator and says there’s a few small signs to look out for when trying to find out if your partner is cheating. Image: TikTok/venusinvestigations

More red flags

There are even more small red flags, such as a reluctance to make long-term plans – “for example, they’re avoiding booking that Bali annual trip you always take in August or seem hesitant about buying new furniture together”.

It might be because they aren’t sure you’ll be together much longer, leading them to try to back out of any major purchases or commitments.

Another sign is what Ms Crofts calls “mentionitis,” where someone suddenly comes up in conversation all the time, even when it’s not strictly relevant.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be positive,” she pointed out. “I had a client whose partner wouldn’t stop talking about his ‘annoying’ new colleague. Guess who he ended up cheating with …”

Not always a sign of cheating

However, it’s crucial to recognise that not all of these little signs necessarily mean your partner is cheating.

“There are two main scenarios when suspicions are misplaced,” Ms Crofts explained.

“The first is that their partner is hiding something, but it’s not cheating. A boyfriend starts withdrawing cash and disappearing for long periods, which looks a lot like cheating – but sometimes they’re hiding something else, like a gambling problem or a drug addiction.”

Secondly, people who have been cheated on previously will often suspect infidelity even when there are no strong signs.

“Past betrayals can make them hyper-aware of minor changes, like a partner coming home late once or twice, which then spiral into full-blown suspicion,” she shared.

In a recent case, after two weeks of tailing her partner, Ms Crofts declined to continue surveillance even when the client was ready and willing to pay for it.

It had become clear over that fortnight that he was always exactly where he told her he would be and not interacting with anyone suspiciously.

“She had been cheated on by two long-term partners in the past, and her fears were more about history repeating itself than any real evidence against her current partner.