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Is your hubby a love rat?

Claire’s* husband makes a quick stop at the lingerie shop and pays cash for some very expensive lacy underwear in a size 10.

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Later, he hands the gift over and leans in for a passionate kiss. Except the lips he’s kissing don’t belong to his wife and the tiny size-10 gift would never fit over Claire’s curvy size-14 hips.

She didn’t see her husband’s betrayal, but as Claire sat in the private investigator’s office, listening to the bare facts, she knew it was true.

“oost people who use our services already know their partner is being unfaithful,” says Kerrie Pihema, a former police officer who now works for Rokez Investigations in Wellington.

“We just confirm it for them and provide evidence in case they want to take it any further.”

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Claire (48) had suspected her husband was cheating for almost two years. His work increased, he was restless at home and was taking more money out of the bank.

Extramarital affairs are the main cause of marriage breakdown and Kerrie says she receives up to six enquiries a day.

“Emails, online dating and text messaging have made it a lot easier to cheat,” says Kerrie. “You can be anyone you want on the internet – affluent, successful, and even single – but there is a fine line between harmless chatting and actual cheating. The test is to think, ‘Would I be happy for my partner to chat like that to a woman if he was standing next to me?’ If you wouldn’t, then that’s unacceptable behaviour.”

Kerrie says there’s definitely been an increase in the number of woman who want the service, and male cheats are easier to catch out.

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“Women are a lot more careful about covering their tracks. They enlist friends to lie for them and seem more on to the fact they could get caught. The men we follow often have just one thing on their minds.”

A private investigator can cost around $120 per hour, but women like Claire say they can’t put a price on their future. Unfortunately, there is rarely a happy ending and Kerrie says nine out of 10 of her cases result in evidence of infidelity.

“I never give advice on what someone should do next, but I do enlist the help of psychologists, lawyers, and even security if it’s needed,” says Kerrie.

“We have to provide our clients with a whole package because people have so much to deal with once they know the truth.”

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Claire confronted her husband, who admitted to his affair with one of her close friends. He ended the affair and he and Claire now attend regular counselling in the hope of rebuilding their relationship.

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