DRUNK on a lads weekend away, Ben* was surprised when a gorgeous girl approached him on the dance floor.
The stranger was exactly his type physically, and appeared to have many of the same interests.
Flattered and egged on by his mates, he started chatting her up.
They laughed and danced together, and towards the end of the night they shared a kiss.
But Ben, in his thirties, had been happily married for six years – or so he thought.
He had fallen prey to the shocking new TikTok honeytrap trend of ensnaring men to test their loyalty.
Suspicious women are paying professionals thousands of pounds to lure their partners into flirty conversation to see if they take the bait.
And when Ben arrived home the following morning, nursing a crippling hangover, his furious wife confronted him with a video of him kissing the woman.
“I made a mistake,” said Ben. “I kissed another woman, even though I was married.
“My wife had spoken to a private investigator, and I was caught in the act.”
Fearing that he might cheat, Charlotte paid a honey trap £1,000 to test her husband’s loyalty – and he fell into her trap.
She had become suspicious when she discovered messages on her husband’s phone, in a group chat about whether there would be attractive girls at the Reading Festival which they were attending in the summer of 2022.
“There was a bit of laddy banter beforehand,” recalled Ben.
“We had a group chat going, and some of the some of the single lads in the group had been making jokes about whether there would be women there to chat up.
“I was never very private about my phone so my wife saw the chat and it gave her cause for concern.
“She voiced the concerns to me once or twice, and I obviously said, ‘There’s nothing to worry about, you know me – it’s just the guys.’
“But she spoke to a private investigation team.”
Ben’s wife contacted nationwide investigations agency Bond Rees and briefed their team with a description of him, photos and details of the type of women he tends to fancy.
She told them about his interests and what he likes to chat about, so the honeytrap was well prepared when she sought him out.
Ben added: “I did go to the festival and I did slip up.
“I was very, very drunk.
“We had just watched the headline act and we went back to one of the after party tents that they have there.
“And a very attractive girl, she’s smiling at me and making eyes, and what was looking turned to dancing.
“Dancing turned to a kiss. I was recorded kissing another girl.
“The girl that I kissed, she looked so similar to my wife – dark hair, nice pretty eyes.
“I didn’t know at the time, but someone had videoed us and sent it to my wife.”
Ben took the coach home from Reading to Bournemouth the next day, and found his furious wife waiting for him at the bus station.
“I’m very, very hungover. I get off the coach, and she’s there waiting – very, very angry, understandably.
“Then ensued a lot of arguing, and a bit of slapping. Completely deserved.
“Hand on heart, I did something very, very stupid. She was incredibly cross.”
Although Ben and Charlotte separated straight away, they are not yet divorced and Ben is still hoping to repair their relationship.
He said: “I’m trying to regain something similar to what we had once.
“I’ve asked how much she spent on the honeytrap, I don’t think she ever really wants to tell me the proper number, but I believe it was in the vicinity of a thousand pounds.
Instead of being mad at myself, I was mad at the person I thought had dobbed me in
“I didn’t even realise that being a honeytrap was a thing.
“When I was back in college, maybe someone would send a message to someone on a girl’s behalf to see if they would get a response, but I didn’t know it was a job.
“I don’t know how far the girl was prepared to go, she didn’t offer sex, and I can’t imagine she had a very good time if I’m honest.
“She went to an extreme length, obviously, but that’s not an excuse. I brought it on myself.
“At the time I was very, very angry. But who am I angry at?
“Because there’s only one person to really blame.
Private Investigator Aaron Bond from BondRees revealed four warning signs your partner might be cheating.
They start to take their phone everywhere with them
In close relationships, it’s normal to know each other’s passwords and use each other’s phones, if their phone habits change then they may be hiding something.
Aaron says: “If your partner starts changing their passwords, starts taking their phone everywhere with them, even around the house or they become defensive when you ask to use their phone it could be a sign of them not being faithful.”
“You should also look at how they place their phone down when not in use. If they face the phone with the screen facing down, then they could be hiding something.”
They start telling you less about their day
When partners cheat they can start to avoid you, this could be down to them feeling guilty or because it makes it easier for them to lie to you.
“If you feel like your partner has suddenly begun to avoid you and they don’t want to do things with you any more or they stop telling you about their day then this is another red flag.”
“Partners often avoid their spouses or tell them less about their day because cheating can be tough, remembering all of your lies is impossible and it’s an easy way to get caught out,” says Aaron.
Their libido changes
Your partner’s libido can change for a range of reasons so it may not be a sure sign of cheating but it can be a red flag according to Aaron.
Aaron says: “Cheaters often have less sex at home because they are cheating, but on occasions, they may also have more sex at home, this is because they feel guilty and use this increase in sex to hide their cheating. You may also find that your partner will start to introduce new things into your sex life that weren’t there before.”
They become negative towards you
Cheaters know that cheating is wrong and to them, it will feel good, this can cause tension and anxiety within themselves which they will need to justify.
“To get rid of the tension they feel inside they will try to convince themselves that you are the problem and they will become critical of you out of nowhere. Maybe you haven’t walked the dog that day, put the dishes away or read a book to your children before bedtime. A small problem like this can now feel like a big deal and if you experience this your partner could be cheating,” warns Aaron.
“My first thought was it must have been one of my friends who filmed me, and I felt extremely betrayed.
“It’s such a mixed bag of emotions because you’ve done something wrong, but equally you don’t expect it to just be shoved straight into your face.
“I fell out with friends over this.
“There were many words. A very close friend of mine, I don’t see him anymore and it’s on me, it’s my fault.
“Instead of being mad at myself, I was mad at the person I thought had dobbed me in.
“I’ve never heard of anyone else having this specific problem but apparently it is a trend and there are other men out there in this position.
“The best advice I can give is just don’t do it, it’s never worth it.
“It’s very easy to realise what you had when it’s gone.
“Fingers crossed she might forgive me, I don’t know if you ever forgive, but do you move on?
“I’m not sure but I’m hoping.
“It’s a mistake I certainly won’t make again, absolutely not.”
Private investigator Aaron Bond, who conducted the sting, has seen a massive increase in demand for loyalty test services since the rise of the TikTok trend.
“We have around 50 inquiries a day from all over the UK and abroad, and they range in age from 18 to over 90 years old,” he explained.
“We have former MI5 agents, former police and counter terrorism experts working for us, as well as data procurement experts who can plant information on the internet so even when background checks are carried out the fake person appears to have a verifiable history.
“The bespoke social media profiles we create are based on their known likes and dislikes.
“Sometimes that information can be really intimate, like their sexual preferences.
“I would say 90 per cent behave in exactly the same way as Ben.
“The simple fact is you never really know anyone.”
*Names have been changed
By Nadia Cohen
Scrolling through TikTok as she finalised arrangements for her wedding day, Jane* spotted the online honeytrap trend.
Although she was set to wed her fiance, after watching other women test their partners on TikTok, Jane contacted a private investigator and with the help of her mum she handed over £1,300 – confident that loved up James* would not be willing to cheat.
She was sure he would pass the test with flying colours and their wedding would go ahead as planned.
Jane told us: “I never imagined James would do anything wrong, I assumed he would pass the loyalty test.
“I felt sure he was the one but wanted to see if he was as committed as I was.
“£1,300 is a lot of money, but worth it for peace of mind.”
Within an hour of the honey trap contacting James he was firing back flirty messages.
After just a few days the love rat had sent d*** pics to the fake profile, and was asking for nude photos in return.
Soon he was urging her to meet in real life – while sitting next to his suspicious fiancée who was sent screenshots of all the messages at the end of each day.
“I felt sick and I was embarrassed that he had suggested meeting up with her so quickly,” Jane added.
“She was a random stranger but he would have slept with her behind my back.
“It made me question our entire relationship.
“The whole time he was messaging her, James was acting completely normally with me.”
When she had seen enough, Jane printed out every message and plastered them across the walls of their living room, then waited in tears until he came home.
“He took one of the pages off the wall and read it without saying a word.
“I wanted to make him feel like I had – sick and hurt.
“He was lost for words and just walked out the door,” added Jane who has not heard from James since.
She has no regrets about the sting, and is advising all her friends to follow her example.
“It was money well spent.
“I will definitely have trouble trusting men in the future.
“I genuinely believed that he would pass that test, he always seemed really sweet and truthful.”
