How I reacted when I caught my partner using a dating app

The world of online dating is quick, convenient and quite popular. It takes a few taps on your smartphone to make your profile and voila! You have thousands of options to explore and see how it impacts your love life. So far, so good, right?

But things take a messy turn when you are in a serious relationship and you find your partner having a profile on a dating app or site. How would you deal with this situation? Would you simply break up and not look back ever again? Or, would you brush this issue under the carpet and give your partner another chance? We asked people how they reacted when they caught their partner actively using a dating app and here’s what they shared.

“My friend shared the screenshots of my boyfriend’s profile with me and honestly, it took me a few hours to realise he was cheating on me. His bio on the app mentioned that he was looking for a hook-up and for all the obvious reasons, there was not even a slightest hint that he is in a serious relationship with someone from past three years. What he did was unacceptable and could not be considered an innocent mistake. He apologised but I knew breaking up was the best thing to do.”

“My partner had started acting weird from past few weeks. He avoided meeting me and intentionally kept his phone out of my sight, preferably always inside his pocket. I sniffed something dubious and checked his phone when he was in the washroom. Interestingly, he was chatting with women on dating apps and had even met two of them. When I confronted him, he made a futile excuse of expanding his social circle.”

I went on a date with my partner when I saw the dating app’s notification popping up in her phone. We had an argument the very moment and after consistent requests, she let me check her profile. Shockingly, she had changed her name’s spelling and drastically edited her photographs so that our mutual friends could not recognise her. She was playing smart by keeping all her options open and had started chatting with a few males on social networking sites as well. That date was our last one.”

“My partner and I met on a dating app and uninstalled it together when we stepped into a serious relationship. After almost eight months, my boyfriend confessed he has again started using the app and wanted to talk to strangers to understand their life experiences. He even mentioned this in his bio along with the fact that he was in a serious relationship. I don’t count this as cheating and we are still going strong.”

“I knew he was actively using a dating app, so I made a fake account and started chatting with him there. I (the woman on the app) asked him all sorts of questions and he lied about everything, including his relationship status. He flirted and had not even an iota of guilt about it. I revealed my true identity to him on that app and broke up there only.”

“I found it weird when my girlfriend told me she has made a profile on dating app to network with people from her field. A month later, I read her chats where she was flirting with several men. She confessed she was ‘enjoying’ all the special attention and we knew the damage done was irreparable.”

I caught my partner red-handed using a dating app and surprisingly, he had taken the paid subscription to improve his chances of matching with others. We had been dating from three months and it was not an open relationship. He pleaded for a second chance, but I knew once a cheater is always a cheater.”

(All images used here are representational)