Secret Story

When Teagan, 36, saw a photo online it was the last straw

It had been a whirlwind from the moment I met Dan. Perfect in every way, he’d swept me off my feet, and after just a year of dating we’d decided to explore the world.

Dan was a photographer so could easily work and travel. Each night, he’d always showed me the best photo of the day.

‘Look at this incredible sunset at the pyramids,’ he boasted, showing off his favourite snap in Egypt.

‘Check out the detail on the giraffes,’ he said, after a safari in Africa.

But while he was gone for long hours day and night, I was left to explore alone.

After we’d been away for a few years, I fell pregnant. ‘That’s amazing,’ Dan said. Moving back home, he often travelled interstate to

get work. Sometimes he was away for days and in remote locations.

‘I’m worried I’ll go into labour and not know where he is,’ I confided in my friend Sarah, as my due date neared.

‘Why don’t you get him to use the tracker on his phone?’ she asked, explaining a feature you could turn on so select friends can see your location.

In bed one night, I cuddled Dan.

‘Sarah told me about this tracking app…’ I started.

When he didn’t reply, I noticed he’d dozed off.

I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, I thought.

Picking up his phone I turned on track my location.

After that, whenever he forgot to give me the address of a job, I’d jump on my phone to see where he was.

Then one day, Dan sent me a photo he’d taken of a bird in the outback, but the app showed him near a beach.

That’s weird, I thought. Maybe it’s broken.

Over the next few weeks, I noticed he kept showing up at that same beach address.

Yet every night he sent me snaps in different locations. ‘I think Dan’s cheating,’ I said to Sarah.

‘Ask him!’ she urged.

He’ll probably just lie? I thought.

One day, I was scrolling through Facebook when a post caught my eye. It was an inspirational quote written on one of Dan’s bird pics. But it wasn’t his photo at all – it was a stock image from Google.

Frantically searching for his other photos, I found they were all off the internet – taken by other people!

When he got home, I confronted him.

‘I know you haven’t been

‘I’m worried I’ll go into labour and not know where he is’

working today,’ I said.

Caught off guard, Dan couldn’t deny it.

‘I’m so sorry Teagan,’ he blurted.

When pushed, Dan admitted he’d slept with women all around the world, while I was waiting for him.

Now he was having an affair with a woman who lived by the coast.

I felt sick, but I had to be strong for my bub.

I kicked him out – and he never did find out that I was tracking him on his phone.

He travels so much he barely sees our little boy, now six months.

Dan may have been pretending to photograph birds but he was picking up chicks instead.

I’m just so glad I found out and got out of there.