CHEATERS never prosper — at least not when one investigative Instagrammer gets involved.
Natalia Cestti is on a mission to expose as much infidelity as she can, one DM at a time.
Natalia (@nataliacestti) spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun about her experience catching cheaters.
Armed with a variety of “catfish accounts” and a set of moral guidelines, the content creator has lost count of the number of people she has outsmarted.
The 23-year-old revealed her inspiration came from her own partner’s shady behavior.
“I had this boyfriend and he wouldn’t treat me as right,” Cestti explained.
“He made me walk in the rain alone, he would scream at me, and so many other things.
“I was 19, I thought I was in love but it was more obsession than love.”
Cestti recalled how her now ex-boyfriend had a female best friend with whom he would cross countless boundaries.
“[She] would come over to his house, even when I was there, and she would be so cool with his parents and because I loved him so much I said I didn’t care,” she said.
“I wouldn’t do anything and [it was] the biggest mistake of my life.
“As soon as we argued, he would Snapchat me photos of them holding hands.”
At that point in the relationship, Cestti said there was rarely a day where she was crying over how he treated her but there was light at the end of the tunnel.
“I went through that [and found] inspiration,” she said.
“I wanted to help women by exposing people who have cheated because it’s not just the act of explicitly cheating, it’s the fact that that can ruin a woman’s mental health.
One man knew this was a trap and then he told me, ‘Wait a minute, you know she also cheated on me?’
Natalia Cestti
“It can ruin their self-esteem, their self-respect, and their self-love, it can [make them] question their self-worth.”
Seeing herself as an “online older sister,” she created an array of social media accounts and got to work.
Her first-ever endeavor was successful; however, it had an unexpected result.
“He did cheat because he wanted my number and he wanted to go further,” she explained.
“However, he knew this was a trap and then he told me, ‘Wait a minute, you know she also cheated on me?’”
After the unexpected double exposure, Cestti’s loyalty-check service went viral.
She decided to set up some guidelines for herself to ensure she always kept the partner who reached out in the loop and never crossed any lines.
“I definitely always keep the woman aware of everything with screenshots, I don’t want the woman to have trust issues with me,” she explained.
“I always keep them in the loop with every single message, every FaceTime, everything.”
Cestti also has strict rules for her own personal safety, never giving out her number or meeting with anyone in person.
She recalled the worrying messages she has received from betrayed partners and explained that she advises them to speak to a friend, family member, or professional.
“I cannot be that type of help, that’s a different chapter,” she explained.
Another difficult element of her service has been dealing with children who reach out over concerns one of their parents is cheating on the other.
One 16-year-old girl provided her dad’s business details for Cestti to start up a flirty conversation online.
We gave him a fake address and he showed up, it was obvious he was there with the intention of cheating.
Natalia Cestti
After arranging to deliver her a product, the man was quick to accept her suggestion of dinner as a thank you.
“Long story short, we gave him a fake address, and he showed up, it was obvious he was there with the intention of cheating,” she said.
Having previously planned to work as an educator, Cestti described herself as “a sucker for kids.”
“So the fact that a 16-year-old had we had to reach out to me for this, my heart absolutely broke and I definitely wanted to help,” she explained.
However, she has had to refuse help to younger children who reach out, explaining that they aren’t emotionally equipped for what they may find out.
Though she admits that sometimes children tend to handle the situation better than their parents.
“Their boundary is way healthier than the wife’s [usually] is, to be honest,” she explained.
“They’re devastated, 100%, but at least they’re not trauma dumping.”
Out of all the people, men and women alike, that Cestti has been asked to “test,” she estimates about 90% fall for the bait.
She revealed the most common red flags she has noticed since beginning her mission in 2021.
Strike number one for the relationship pro is following back a stranger on social media.
“I just liked your photo, what are you doing reach out to me, I’m just a random girl that you’ve never met,” she explained.
“I don’t believe in [men having] girl best friends, I believe in female friends.
Natalia Cestti
Cestti also shared her firm belief when it comes to close friendships with the opposite sex.
“I don’t believe in [men having] girl best friends, I believe in female friends,” she said.
“I don’t believe in boy best friends either, I think that’s completely stupid.
“That’s just a word to cover up that [you] secretly like this person or they secretly like you.”
It’s a lot of effort for no reason, just dump the person if you don’t want to be with them.
Natalia Cestti
She also shared her disdain for the effort some people put into tricking their significant other.
“It’s a lot of effort for no reason, just dump the person if you don’t want to be with them.”
While Cestti believes that social media has made cheating easier and more normalized, she still holds out hope for the future of dating.
She has even faced some difficulty in her own love life due to her passion for exposing infidelity.
It affected my love life immensely, 110%, there is no doubt about it.
Natalia Cestti
“It affected my love life immensely, 110%, there is no doubt about it,” she said.
“Sometimes men are just very careful with me.”
However, Cestti believes that every heartbreak serves a greater purpose.
“If you find out that someone is cheating on you, it’s devastating, 100%, but you’re going to get through it and that’s life,” she explained.
“Life does not start until you begin to feel hurt because that’s how you grow.
“How are you going to learn to process hurt? And how are you going to recover from that hurt if you don’t experience it?
“So in a way, I generally think that it’s a blessing in disguise because it’s preparing you for your future husband or future wife.”
