AS the taxi driver beeps to let Emma Smith, 41, know he’s outside, she presses a quick kiss into her husband’s cheek and tells him she'll text him when she reaches Bristol.
Joe, 42, thinks she's going on a work trip, and she has made up that it’s in south west England to throw him off the scent. The truth is, Emma has a steamy night booked 200 miles away in Manchester with her secret lover.
She's even gone to the trouble of booking a train ticket to Bristol from her local London station so that her back is covered if Joe goes snooping.
Inside her suitcase, beneath the neatly folded blouses meant to keep up the illusion, exposes all - lingerie, stiletto heels and a bodycon dress for a romantic dinner with Alex, 40.
She calls Alex her "boyfriend" and has been seeing him for over a year now after meeting online.
It was meant to be a harmless fling, but she soon developed into a fully-fledged extra-marital relationship.
Emma is not alone, with one study finding that 19% of married women admit to having an affair in the UK.
You might assume ladies offend way less than men, but you’d be wrong. The difference is just 1%, with one in 5 men admitting to an extra-marital relationship.
“It wasn’t something I planned,” Emma confesses. “Joe and I were more like roommates than husband and wife.
"We were introduced through pals in our Thirties and couldn’t keep our hands off each other in the early days.
"I loved how fiery he was and wore his jealous remarks like a badge of honour - as if they were proof of how much he loved and desired me.
"But after a decade of drifting apart, the passion was gone and his possessiveness became simply exhausting."
The corporate manager, from London, signed up to IllicitEncounters, a dating website for married people wanting to have an affair, and soon connected with Alex.
Bosses at the brand assure that “marriages are happier as a result of affairs”.
The deceptive pair initially embarked on a casual fling, but Emma found herself falling for Alex and growing increasingly desperate to be around him.
“I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t help myself,” she says.
One day I noticed a man standing outside my office with a big umbrella and coffee. He looked totally innocent, but something in my gut told me he was tracking me
Emma Smith
"Alex was everything Joe wasn’t: adventurous, spontaneous and wildly attentive.
"He hung on to my every word and made me feel like I was the most fascinating woman alive.
"We met in dimly lit restaurants, snogged through entire films in the cinema and took long drives to nowhere, parking in secluded spots to chat for hours on end.
"Our sex life was intoxicating and I craved Alex’s touch. For the first time in years, I felt desired and alive. I never wanted it to end."
Our sex life was intoxicating and I craved Alex’s touch. For the first time in years, I felt desired and alive. I never wanted it to end
Emma Smith
But keeping the affair under wraps wasn’t easy.
Joe, who Emma married 10 years ago, has always had a jealous streak, which reared its ugly head when he noticed her change in behaviour.
"It didn’t go unnoticed that I was suddenly 'working late' more often, or that I joined a gym even though I’d never cared for it before," she recalls.
"I was looking at my phone and smiling more than usual, and I was getting mani-pedis every two weeks like clockwork.
I was always one step ahead. I knew my husband was watching me, so I made sure there was nothing for him to find
Emma Smith
"Joe questioned everything."
“Why are you suddenly always staying late at work? Why do you need a new wardrobe?” he’d ask, eyes narrowed.
And, finally, the big one: “Are you cheating on me?”
Emma denied the affair and hatched a plan to throw him off the scent.
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.
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.
She created a fake work project to explain her late nights, used a second phone to communicate with Alex and even enlisted a friend to cover for her when she needed an alibi.
“I was always one step ahead,” she says. “I knew Joe was watching me, so I made sure there was nothing for him to find.
"I even got a second phone solely for Alex.
"My second phone is the exact same make and model as my first one, so my husband will never suspect that it's a totally different one.
Being one step ahead of my husband gave me a total thrill
Emma Smith
"I began deleting any soppy messages between Alex and I, which makes me sad as I love to read through them."
But Joe wasn’t just relying on his own instincts. Convinced Emma was hiding something, he hired a private investigator to follow her.
“I had no idea at first,” Emma admits. “But looking back, there were signs – a car that seemed to follow me a few times, a stranger walking the exact same route as me.
“I realised what was happening and doubled down on my efforts to stay under the radar.
I’m naturally a very observant person, so having a touch of paranoia helps in these situations
Emma Smith
"One day I noticed a man standing outside my office with a big umbrella and coffee. He looked totally innocent, but something in my gut told me he was tracking me.
"I’m naturally a very observant person, so having a touch of paranoia helps in these situations."
Emma began to mix up her routine and never met Alex in the same place twice.
She paid for everything in cash and swapped her bank statements to be digital only, so there was no chance of Joe opening her mail by accident and seeing something incriminating.
People are more paranoid than ever, and instead of communicating with their partners, they’re turning to private investigators for answers
Jessica Leoni
"I’ll admit that there were times I was wracked with nerves meeting up with Alex, and couldn’t properly enjoy our rendezvous as I was constantly looking over my shoulder," she says.
"But on the whole, being one step ahead of my husband gave me a total thrill."
Emma’s meticulous planning paid off. The private investigator was unable to find any concrete evidence of her affair, and eventually told Joe he was wrong.
He remorsefully told Emma everything about the investigation and even apologised to her for hiring someone to follow her around.
I’ve rediscovered a part of myself that I thought was gone forever. I don’t want to give up what I’ve found, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect that
Emma Smith
“He said he’d been paranoid and that he trusted me,” she says. “It was a weird feeling – relief mixed with guilt. I knew I was lying to him, but I also knew I wasn’t ready to end things with Alex.”
For Emma, the affair isn’t just about sex – it’s about reclaiming a part of herself she thought she’d lost.
"This was five months ago, and I’m still seeing Alex," she says.
"Alex is adventurous and makes me feel alive in a way I haven’t felt in years. I’ve rediscovered a part of myself that I thought was gone forever.
Social media, dating apps, and websites like ours have made it easier than ever to have an affair, but they’ve also created a culture of suspicion
Jessica Leoni
"I don’t want to give up what I’ve found, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect that."
Relationship experts say Emma’s case is not unusual, with private investigators reporting a surge in demand from people desperate to confirm their worst fears about their partners.
Jessica Leoni, a sex and relationships expert at IllicitEncounters.com, says trust issues in relationships are at an all-time high.
“Social media, dating apps, and websites like ours have made it easier than ever to have an affair, but they’ve also created a culture of suspicion,” she tells.
“People are more paranoid than ever, and instead of communicating with their partners, they’re turning to private investigators for answers.”
*Names have been changed
