A high percentage of enquiries private investigators receive, come from one half of a relationship wanting to find out what the other half is up to. This is one area of the business that most investigators will have plenty of experience in and they will be adept at gathering the kind of information  that helps to confirm the client’s suspicions – or allay his or her fears.  Rarely, is the evidence gathered, inconclusive, at least not if the subject is under surveillance for a reasonable period of time. If you hire a private investigator to find out if your partner is being unfaithful, then you can be pretty sure you’ll learn the truth, one way or the other.

Final proof

In many cases, what clients are asking private investigators to do essentially, is confirm what they themselves already know. They are sure their partner is seeing someone else but they need concrete proof; the kind of evidence that will stand up in a divorce court, for instance. In fact, it may be a solicitor acting on behalf of their client, who hires an investigator. Not surprisingly, emotions often run high if infidelity is involved, which is why hiring a private investigator makes a lot of sense, rather than trying to carry out your own surveillance. 

The investigator keeps a cool head, can see things clearly, and keeps an open mind.  The evidence gathered will also be presented in a calm and professional manner because proof of infidelity is always a dish best served cold by someone who is emotionally detached from the situation. What can’t be guaranteed, however, is how the client will react when faced with the facts.

Hell hath no fury like a woman – or man – scorned!

One of the UK’s most flamboyant businesswoman, Michelle Mone, hired a private investigator to get photographic evidence that her then husband, Michael, was having an affair with an employee at their Ultimo bra and lingerie business. She already had her suspicions, all she needed now was hard evidence. The investigator soon returned with compromising photographs of her husband and the other woman, taken at a hotel in Hong Kong.

The bra tycoon says that despite the fact that she’d known her marriage was over, she still felt incredible pain when she saw the pictures. This soon turned to anger and as well as trashing her husband’s £100,000 Porsche, she says in her recently published autobiography ‘Fight to the Top’, that she cut holes in all his boxer shorts, threw his favourite shirts in the bin, put laxatives in his coffee, let down his car tyres, and then fought him for control of the business.

Her reaction may sound extreme, but there’s nothing unusual about the feelings of intense pain and anger that are brought to the boil by proof of infidelity –  and it can hit both men and women just as hard. The opening scenes in the movie Chinatown, shows the private investigator, Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson) presenting a client with photographic evidence of his wife’s infidelity. The man is heartbroken, and needs a stiff shot of bourbon to recover.  A bit of a cliché, perhaps, but not an untypical reaction to receiving the dreaded evidence.

Get the evidence you need

When you hire a private investigator, be sure to make it clear the kind of evidence that you’re looking for. Whether it’s photographs, video, documents, handwriting samples including signatures, voice recordings –  you want the evidence to be as strong, and as undeniable as possible. Strong evidence is the only kind that matters. Once you have that, the next step is up to you.