Despite his significant fall from grace and the removal of his titles, Andrew Mountbatten–Windsor is set to receive a royal ceremonial funeral.

According to senior Whitehall sources, as reported by The Mail on Sunday, the former Duke of York remains included on a confidential government roster of royals entitled to high-profile funerals. This remains true even after he became a private citizen in the wake of revelations about his association with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.

Insiders reveal that this contentious decision is incorporated into the Government’s detailed ‘bridge’ plans. These plans, meticulously prepared in advance, dictate the funeral arrangements for Royal Family members.

Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022 adhered to ‘Operation London Bridge’, while Prince Philip’s farewell followed ‘Operation Forth Bridge’, named after a famous bridge near Edinburgh.

While specifics of Mountbatten–Windsor’s funeral plans are yet to be disclosed, royal commentators suggest the service will likely take place at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel, in line with the farewell ceremonies for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

The 14th–century chapel also serves as the venue for baptisms and royal weddings, including that of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018.

It is anticipated that Mountbatten–Windsor would be buried at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, a 33–acre private cemetery in Home Park, Windsor.

Others buried there include King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in disgrace in 1936 to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson, who is also buried there.

It is not expected that the plan for 66–year–old Mountbatten–Windsor, which is overseen by the Cabinet Office and kept under constant review, will be required for some time, given that he appears to be in good health. 

But on Saturday US lawyer Gloria Allred, who has represented 27 of Epstein’s victims, said: ‘Andrew has brought disgrace upon the Royal Family and the UK as a result of his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.

‘Under these circumstances, the question arises as to why this man should be afforded the honour of a royal funeral. What kind of message would such a ceremony send to Epstein’s victims?

‘Additionally, why should UK taxpayers bear the burden of paying his expenses either in life or after his death?’

Alicia Kearns, Tory shadow Home Office minister, said: ‘There are no circumstances under which Andrew should be afforded a royal funeral.

‘He should live out his days far from public life, and the police and CPS should ensure their investigations into him are robust and don’t drag on. All such plans should be revoked immediately.’

Norman Baker, a former government minister and expert in royal finances, said: ‘This must be an oversight. Mr Mountbatten–Windsor is a commoner and should in no way be getting any sort of royal funeral.’

The ‘bridge’ plan for Andrew is likely to have been revised in the past year to take into account that he is no longer a working royal. In a humiliating blow, King Charles stripped his brother of his HRH style and prince title in November last year.

Royal experts believe Mountbatten–Windsor’s funeral would be similar to that of Princess Margaret, who died in 2002 aged 71 after a stroke and cardiac complications. A 400–strong congregation, including 30 royals, attended a private service in St George’s Chapel. Flags were flown at half–mast at all royal residences throughout a six–day period of mourning.

Ahead of the funeral, the princess’s coffin was laid in Kensington Palace, where her family paid their respects. It was draped in Margaret’s standard and a spray of white lilies and roses and was then taken to the Queen’s Chapel at St James’s Palace.

The coffin was then driven to Windsor where police had to erect barriers for 3,000 people to watch the cortege enter the castle gates.

In a break from royal tradition, which is unlikely to feature in Mountbatten–Windsor’s plans, Princess Margaret was later cremated at Slough Crematorium.

While not an official state or public occasion, the funeral was a major royal event that was accompanied by a costly policing and security operation.

One delicate matter the former Duke may have to ponder in the coming years is who will act as pallbearers during his ceremony.

Servicemen from regiments associated with members of the Royal Family normally have the honour of carrying their coffin.

Eight sergeants from the Royal Highland Fusiliers, of which Princess Margaret was the colonel–in–chief, carried her coffin.

Mountbatten–Windsor served in the Royal Navy, including during the Falklands War as a Sea King helicopter co–pilot, and was the honorary colonel of the Grenadier Guards, the Royal Irish Regiment, and the Royal Regiment of Scotland. However, he lost his military titles amid the Epstein scandal.

Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry, who captained the Royal Navy’s HMS Fearless, said he believed the Navy would ask for volunteers to act as pallbearers.

‘The guy doesn’t relinquish being a naval officer,’ he said. ‘He wasn’t thrown out. He had a Falklands medal and you can’t take that away from him and he deserves the credit for that. If somebody said to me ‘Would you do it?’, I’d do it.’

US lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who represented nine of Epstein’s victims, said: ‘Taxpayers should not ever be funding a funeral for a private individual. No public money should be used to benefit him during death. It’s an embarrassment to the Crown.’

Tory MP Joe Robertson said: ‘Public funds should not bankroll Andrew Mountbatten–Windsor’s funeral. He has lost all his royal titles and publicly funded roles for a reason. He is an ordinary citizen – one who still has a lot of questions to answer – and his funeral should be paid for privately just like everyone else.’

The Cabinet Office and Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Mountbatten–Windsor did not respond to a request to comment.

In a captivating twist for real estate enthusiasts and history buffs, a historic residence in Bath, Maine, affectionately dubbed the “City of Ships,” is now up for grabs with a seemingly unbelievable price tag of just $1. However, this bargain comes with a significant caveat—the new owner must relocate the house or it will be demolished.

This week, shipbuilding giant General Dynamics Bath Iron Works dropped the news, announcing that it plans to part with two residential properties, including the early 20th-century gem known as the Deering House, located at 606 Washington St. in Bath.

The critical stipulation is that the prospective buyer has until November 20, 2027, to relocate the structures to a site that meets legal requirements, ensuring their preservation.

Deering House carries with it a rich history. It was once the home of Gardiner G. Deering, a notable figure in the shipbuilding world, whose work greatly contributed to Bath’s esteemed status as a shipbuilding powerhouse in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Currently, the house serves a different purpose. It operates as office space and remains occupied by tenants, who hold leases lasting until November 2027, according to a report by WMTW.

Bath Iron Works says the buildings are being sold “as is, where is,” with no warranties of any kind.

The buyer will be responsible for “all relocation costs, including permits, approvals, licensed structural movers, transportation, site prep, foundations, utilities, and related services.”

The Deering House will be demolished to make room for a new Bath Iron Works facility if no buyers step in to save the historic residence.

“It’s important for General Dynamics and Bath Iron Works to continue to be able to grow as a company and employ thousands of Mainers. We’re looking for ways to improve our facilities,” Jolene Nickerson, director of facilities capital at Bath Iron Works, said, WMTW reported.

“The hope is that there is somebody that has a viable lot to move this to, and that it’s financially feasible for somebody who is interested in the house to relocate it and preserve the historic nature, which the community is very excited about,” Nickerson added.

Bath was once known as the “City of Ships,” and ranked third in the US in wooden-hulled vessel production in 1854, behind New York City and Boston, according to the city’s government website.

Deering built 99 vessels during his career and operated a shipyard along the Kennebec River that helped make Bath a leading center of wooden shipbuilding before the Civil War ended the boom and “changed. the face of the industry.”

Jack Martin, archivist and special collections librarian at the Patten Free Library, said saving the house would give its new owner a unique piece of Bath history.

“You would have a one-of-a-kind home and a great story,” Martin said, according to WMTW.

“Not only do you have the history of the house that comes with it, then you also have the story of being the person who moved and saved a historic home — and that’s fascinating.”

Bath Iron Works said it has already received several inquiries about the buildings.

The idea of moving a historic Maine house is not unprecedented.

In May, a 6,200-square-foot, three-story house designed by architect John Calvin Stevens in 1899 was moved about one-third of a mile through Augusta, the Kennebec Journal reported.

The 120,000-pound building was split into two sections and transported to a new lot — with the overall project costing more than $500,000.

A growing trend among some of America’s elite circles reveals a remarkable shift: the wealthy are eager to invest $5 million to settle in a distant part of the world, even in an economically tenuous country, rather than remain another day in California. This development emerges from a recent report.

According to the Financial Times, some of Governor Gavin Newsom’s wealthiest constituents are migrating to the tranquil allure of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. This stunning mountain range serves as the backdrop for a unique opportunity, often referred to as a ‘reward,’ where individuals opt to secure a ‘golden visa’ through significant investment.

In the coming weeks, a small group of eight will embark on an exceptional journey. Guided by a seasoned polar explorer, they will take part in an extraordinary two-day expedition to the Southern Alps, an event coordinated by the Mountain Club, as reported.

The Mountain Club, headed by CEO Peter Fullerton-Smith, operates as a private member organization. This prestigious group facilitates the transition of new citizens to New Zealand, for an entry fee of NZ$5 million (approximately US$2.9 million).

Over the last 14 months, more than 700 affluent international applicants have sought New Zealand citizenship through this initiative. This surge follows the relaxation of rules in the country concerning property ownership, residency duration requirements, and investment necessities, as highlighted in the report.

Applicants have to make that minimum investment in companies, charities, or local funds over the span of three years, Fullerton-Smith said. 

Another 127 people have opted for a different program that requires a NZ$10 million (US$5.7 million) investment over the course of five years in passive assets, such as stocks and bonds. 

Under the agreement of the visa scheme, applicants can only purchase property worth more than the minimum price, according to the report.  

Many have found appeal in the Southern Alps because of its safety measures and remote location, the article stated. 

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, is hopeful the visa program will reverse what he described as ‘brain drain’ – something that he believes has jeopardized the country’s growth, the publication reported. 

Luxon also hopes that it will increase foreign investment. 

According to Luxon, start-ups in his country have already seen a big difference since Americans started flocking over. 

‘At a time when everyone around the world is tightening up their settings, we’ve opened that up, and we’ve been a great beneficiary of the capital coming into our start-ups, but also the knowledge and know-how to come into those start-ups as well,’ he told Financial Times. 

Lachlan Nixon, a founding partner of Motion Capital, a venture capital firm, attested to how popular the scheme is among rich California natives. 

‘It’s becoming a badge of honor in Silicon Valley,’ he told the paper. 

A total of 277 Americans account for the applications, and Californians are among the most interested in the visas. 

Nixon added: ‘There’s a huge wall of money coming but the calibre of these people now investing in the New Zealand economy is what’s important.’ 

He told the outlet he was able to recruit 30 ‘golden visa’ holders, who in turn, made up 40 percent of a recent NZ$27 million (US$15.87 million) fundraising for booming companies in the country. 

Those beneficiaries include Zethos, a company that converts industrial waste into clean minerals, magnesium miner Aspiring Materials, and the seed protein oil company called Miruku, Nixon said. 

Peter Beck, the CEO of the aerospace manufacturer and SpaceX competitor Rocket Lab, feels that the price tag on New Zealand’s new passports is too low. 

‘The country is underselling itself,’ he told FT.

The presence of foreigners has also turned Queenstown, a town that is home to a picturesque backdrop of the Southern Alps, into an expensive property market. 

The median price of a home there is NZ$1.9 million (US$1.12 million), making it the highest property market in the country, according to Opes Partners. 

Many people are relocating from San Diego and Beverly Hills, according to property agent Jo Eddington. 

‘There’s a lot of billionaires here. They just wear gumboots,’ Eddington told the paper, referring to the low-key lifestyle so many transplants are appearing to crave. 

One applicant, Courtney Andelman, said that she and her husband, Jim, successfully applied for the visa last year and visit the country often. 

‘There’s something magic in the air and in the water. It’s a really healthy place to be,’ Andelman, who runs a venture company fund with her partner, shared. 

She ideally wanted to settle in a smaller city than Queenstown, like South Island or Nelson, but there are very few homes there worth more than the minimum price they agreed to in the contract. 

Although she loves the country, Andelman complained directly to Christopher Luxon about the rules that tax her family on all of their global earnings if they spend more than 183 days in the country annually. 

‘What’s the highest and best use of a dollar is a constant question we ask ourselves,’ she told the outlet. 

‘If New Zealand doesn’t provide the best value then we’ll go somewhere else. Every one of those dollars is mobile.’ 

The new scheme comes at a time when New Zealand’s economy is being threatened by the war in the Middle East.

Although the whole world is impacted by the US-Iran conflict, New Zealand has been especially hit by the war because it depends on tourism and global trade. 

Despite a small light from the worst stretch of economic turmoil in two decades, the war has set the country back again. 

‘It’s been a tough couple of years – like, really tough. We’ve had significant reduction in the economy, job losses, business closures, all that kind of stuff,’ economist Shamubeel Eaqub told The Guardian. 

As Bryson DeChambeau teed off on the first hole at Trump National Bedminster, his ball veered off into the rough on the right of the fairway. Positioning himself for his next shot, the golf sensation was accompanied by an eager crowd, all vying for a chance to witness the star from LIV Golf in action.

The scene on the third day of LIV Golf New York was a testament to the increasing draw of this event. Held at the picturesque New Jersey course, Saturday’s turnout left no doubt about the main attractions of the day.

“Just look at the crowds trailing him,” remarked Christian Pellegrino to The Post after watching DeChambeau finish up on the fourth hole. “It’s truly remarkable — anywhere he goes, a throng of fans follows. He’s definitely a major draw.”

LIV Golf flaunts a lineup brimming with golf titans, featuring names such as DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, and Dustin Johnson. Yet, it’s DeChambeau and Rahm who attract the lion’s share of spectators. Golf enthusiast Kristian Johnson expressed to The Post that they were the “marquee names” fans eagerly anticipated.

Between them, DeChambeau and Rahm boast an impressive tally of four major titles, with highlights including Rahm’s 2023 Masters triumph and DeChambeau’s dual U.S. Open victories. DeChambeau has also leveraged his YouTube popularity to garner a fresh, youthful audience, thus further expanding golf’s reach.

Rahm and DeChambeau are also sitting first and second, respectively, on the LIV Golf player standings, which fan Tate Stevens chalked up to being part of the draw as well. 

“Bryson has a big [presence] on YouTube right now, and I think a lot of his fans come here and watch him at LIV. I think Jon, he’s a good guy, plays good and I think that’s why they like him,” Stevens added. 

The two also play a major hand in the future of LIV Golf, which remains somewhat uncertain, despite this week’s announcement that the tour CEO Scott O’Neil had secured investments to keep the rebel golf league going past 2026. 

The Saudi Public Investment Fund’s decision to pull its financial backing earlier this year threw the future of LIV into flux. 

DeChambeau exclusively told The Post earlier this week that he was “100 percent” sure of LIV’s future following the news of the investment, while also saying, “I’d love to be able to play events on the PGA Tour, too.” 

Rahm has a contract with LIV beyond this year, but he has remained tight-lipped about his commitment going forward. 

While golf fans at LIV New York told The Post during this week’s event that they weren’t too worried about the off-the-course drama surrounding the league’s funding, the topic has been the talk of the golf world since April. 

Following his round Saturday, Harold Varner III gave a staunch defense of LIV’s impact on the golf space. 

“I think it’s one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to me,” Varner said. “I would hope everyone would take it as an opportunity and not worry about all the negative stuff. I think we’re getting really good at worrying about what could go wrong or this or that and not appreciating the good stuff that we did have or what we do have right in front of us. 

“At the end of the day, no one is going to die. It’s golf. There’s people dealing with way more important things in life that I think are way more important. So with all that stuff you’re talking about, I think it’s important when you’re writing, but it’s not important to what I do every day and what I love to do, and that’s go try to shoot as low as I can every day.” 

President Donald Trump made a brief appearance at Saturday’s third round when he drove between the 16th tee box and 15th green in a golf cart as he was making his way back to the clubhouse. 

Trump had flown into New Jersey on Friday night and arrived at Bedminster at 5:56 p.m. 

Iran’s leaders have unveiled a bold set of eight new conditions that they insist the United States must adhere to. This move by Tehran aligns with former President Donald Trump’s aspirations to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

This strategic maritime passage has seen frequent closures ever since hostilities with Iran erupted in late February.

A powerful influence in Iranian politics, the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), has declared that until the U.S. alters its stance, the Strait of Hormuz will remain shut. This proclamation, accompanied by fresh demands, is poised to significantly impact any negotiations concerning the management of this waterway and its bustling maritime traffic.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who presides over the SNSC, has outlined this new roster of demands, which notably includes some unprecedented stipulations.

Alongside these new prerequisites, longstanding requests persist, such as a permanent cessation of the conflict, the lifting of the U.S. Naval blockade, and the withdrawal of military forces.

From there, Zolghadr wants the US end sanctions on Tehran, unfreeze Iranian assets and even pay reparations to the Iranians to reopen the strait. 

The US would also have to stop threatening and insulting Iran and end all military action against Iranian allies in the region, state news agency Islamic Republic News Agency reports. 

Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard, reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who is currently mulling over a deal with Oman to manage the strait. 

A 60-day period to negotiate a final deal will end in just over a week but could be extended. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the State Department for comment.

Iran’s demands come on the same day the United Arab Emirates said one of its ships was targeted by an Iranian missile in the strait.

The requests also arrive as Donald Trump has attempted to quash reports that he and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth have clashed over reports the United States has hidden missile shortages.

Confronted over why the President was kept in the dark, the secretary of war reportedly turned on his own deputy, according to the Washington Post. 

The showdown reportedly unfolded at Camp David last Friday, where Hegseth insisted he was blameless and accused his number two, Stephen Feinberg, of presiding over the shortfall and failing to keep the President fully briefed. 

The astonishing scene laid bare Trump’s mounting frustration with Hegseth, one of the loudest early cheerleaders for striking Iran, who had assured him the operation would be a swift and relatively painless win. 

Shortages of long-range guided missiles and air defense interceptors are among the reasons Trump has held back from launching further large-scale strikes against Iran in recent days. 

Trump hit back at the report, denying any shortage of US munitions and insisting that interceptors are reaching American bases as needed.

‘The “leakers” of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The White House has denied the clash ever took place, however, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying: ‘This is 100% fake news. Literally never happened. And President Trump has the utmost confidence in Secretary Hegseth.’

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell joined the pushback, insisting Hegseth ‘did not mislead anyone’ about weapons stocks and never pointed the finger at Feinberg

Despite the denials, NBC News reported that Feinberg received a furious phone call from Trump himself on Friday evening, during which the President is said to have threatened to fire him.

The rattled deputy then hastily summoned top Pentagon brass to a late-night crisis meeting just hours after hanging up.

Feinberg, 66, is a billionaire who chaired Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board in his first term before being handed the Pentagon’s number two job.

The interceptor crunch is reportedly now so severe that it is changing how the military decides which incoming threats to shoot down. 

Commanders are forced to weigh where a missile is headed before committing precious defenses. 

Far from the quick victory Trump was promised, the Iran conflict has ground into a near six-month stalemate, with 18 American troops dead. 

Tehran has responded to these attacks by raining missiles on American bases and allies across the region and strangling shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

A fragile truce brokered by Pakistan collapsed last month after Iranian attacks on tankers.

Trump declared US forces ‘locked and loaded’ for fresh strikes at the weekend, only to back down after appeals from Gulf allies, and he now claims talks with Tehran are restarting, something Iran denies.

PITTSBURGH — Carson Benge found himself catching an unexpected break on Saturday, though not severe enough to land him on the injured list.

The rookie outfielder suffered a bone bruise after injuring his left wrist during a remarkable sliding catch in left field. Pain prompted Benge to leave the game, but initial X-rays ruled out any fractures. On the following day, further imaging revealed a bone bruise, according to interim manager Andy Green. The announcement came before the Mets suffered a 9-0 defeat at the hands of the Pirates.

This setback removes one of the Mets’ most promising hitters from the lineup temporarily. However, the optimistic prognosis suggests Benge’s return to the field could occur in just a few days.

“I felt something was off right away,” Benge recalled of his encounter with the left field wall at PNC Park. “Initially, it seemed to ease up after about ten seconds, but once I got back to the dugout and the adrenaline wore off, the pain flared up again.”

The play was the latest defensive gem for the 23-year-old Benge, who has shined offensively and defensively. 

“I always want to be in there every single day, but I feel like this isn’t something that is going to take me a long time to come back from,” Benge said. 

The Mets activated infielder Gabriel Arias and optioned Eric Wagaman to Triple-A Syracuse. Arias was claimed off waivers from the Guardians on Friday, two days after he was designated for assignment. 

“I think he provides us a greater measure of defensive versatility than Eric Wagaman does,” Green said. “We really like Wags’ bat, but given who we have at DH and first base it’s hard to find him consistent opportunity. Gabe gives u an opportunity to rest the regulars on the left side — if Francisco [Lindor] needs a day off and even some of the games where you get a blowout situation and you get somebody off their feet.”

Just when I think I’ve seen it all in terms of infidelity, technology surprises me with innovative ways to expose cheaters.

Recently, a friend called me in tears after spending the weekend with her sisters. Her husband had overlooked the Ring camera at their front door, which notifies them whenever someone arrives. And arrive they did.

At 2 a.m., following what was evidently a night of heavy drinking, her husband and his friend staggered up to the front door. The camera caught their discussion about who they should contact, leading to the appearance of two escorts about 20 minutes later.

The women departed roughly two hours later, but not before the local drug dealer had stopped by to deliver some party supplies.

The Ring camera documented every scandalous moment. While the footage provided excellent evidence for her divorce lawyer, it did little to mend her broken heart.

I still remember prominent New York divorce lawyer James Sexton telling me that Apple practically bought his holiday house because it’s so spectacularly good at catching cheating partners.

As Sexton bluntly shared: ‘Dad might be up in the bathroom sending explicit pics to his mistress, and his son might be in the loungeroom playing on his iPad and says, “Hey Mommy, why are these pictures popping up?” And thanks to a joint iCloud account, suddenly Mom’s looking at the pictures of her husband’s penis that he’s sent to someone else.’ Charming.

Yet an explicit photo appearing on the family iPad is merely the beginning of the technological minefield awaiting the modern cheater.

Sure, it has never been easier to start an affair. A slide into someone’s DMs, a disappearing message, a stealthy rendezvous. Cheaters might be convinced they have covered their tracks, but now they have to outsmart the smartphone.

When I put a call out to my friends and followers to share their own stories of catching a partner cheating via technology, it made for some wild reading.

One dear follower caught her husband via… the car speakers!

She was sitting beside him driving to dinner when his phone automatically connected to CarPlay. A message appeared across the dashboard from someone saved as ‘Mark from work,’ only for Siri to read it aloud in a distinctly female voice.

‘I can still smell you on my sheets.’

Turns out ‘Mark’ was ‘Marissa,’ a woman he had met on Tinder, discovered thanks to a court order on his phone. Double ouch.

Then there are the cheaters who forget about Uber. A woman who responded to my callout said her husband insisted he had spent Thursday evening at the pub with his mates. She opened their shared Uber account the following morning and discovered that he had been collected from his ex-girlfriend’s address at 6.43am.

When she looked a little further, she found the same address saved under recent Uber Eats deliveries – because who doesn’t crave a Big Mac after a… workout.

The television can be just as treacherous. A friend told me her family sat down to watch a movie when their Apple TV began cycling through photographs from a shared cloud account. There were the children at Christmas, their dog at the beach and, suddenly, her husband standing shirtless in a hotel bathroom beside a woman nobody in the room had ever seen before.

Why, for the love of God, do cheaters take photos? I’ll never understand it.

My friend is now divorced.

Smartwatches are another surprisingly effective little snitch. One follower said her partner came home from a work dinner and told her he had gone straight to bed at his hotel. Unfortunately for him, his health app had synced with their home computer and recorded thousands of steps after midnight, along with a rather enthusiastic burst of exercise at 1.17am.

He attempted to explain it away as a ‘late-night gym session.’ One quick phone call to the hotel and she confirmed that the gym closed at 10pm.

Fitness apps can be just as revealing. One woman became suspicious after her husband started going on unusually enthusiastic Saturday-morning runs. She opened his public Strava profile and noticed that every route ended up outside the same house in a suburb on the other side of town.

The house belonged to a female colleague.

Another follower discovered her husband’s affair because of one missing AirPod. He told her he had left it at the office, but when she opened the Find My app, the little white dot was sitting at an address she didn’t recognize.

After some digging, she discovered the house belonged to a woman he worked with. He tried to brush it off as ‘strategy meetings.’

I also discovered that while the modern cheater may remember to delete a hotel confirmation from their inbox, they might forget about digital calendar syncing.

One woman told me her husband booked a hotel room using the email address attached to their family account. The reservation automatically appeared on their shared calendar: ‘Harbor Suite – two guests – champagne package.’

He initially tried to claim it was for a work function. The ‘champagne package’ made that explanation rather difficult to sustain.

Loyalty programs are another spectacularly careless area. A follower received a cheerful notification congratulating her on the points earned during a recent two-night hotel stay. This was news to her because her husband had supposedly spent that weekend camping somewhere without phone reception.

She logged into the account and found the hotel booking and room-service charges. He had used their joint rewards membership because, apparently, saving a few dollars was worth attaching his full name and home address to the evidence.

Then there was the woman whose supermarket rewards account exposed an affair through a late-night purchase of condoms and cat food.

She and her husband didn’t own a cat. His mistress, she soon discovered, owned two.

Doorbell cameras don’t only capture the people entering your own house either. Word to the wise, your neighbors have them, too.

One follower said her partner dropped another woman home just before dawn, believing the dark apartment hallway gave them some privacy. Unfortunately, the neighbor across the corridor had installed a camera that caught him helping the woman find her keys before giving her a lengthy goodbye kiss.

The neighbor, a distant friend on Facebook, recognized him and sent the footage to his girlfriend.

Even complete strangers are now part of the surveillance network.

A woman told me her husband claimed he was away at a work conference when she spotted him in the background of a TikTok filmed at a restaurant in their own city. A group at the next table was recording a funny interaction that went viral, and over one woman’s shoulder, her husband could clearly be seen dining with someone who definitely wasn’t her.

He hadn’t been tagged, and nobody filming the video knew who he was. He simply had the spectacular bad luck to conduct his affair in a world where everybody now records everything.

That bad luck extends to social-media algorithms, too. One follower said the same woman kept appearing in her ‘People You May Know’ suggestions. She finally clicked on the profile and discovered that the stranger had recently uploaded photos from a weekend of shenanigans. One photo showed her boyfriend’s distinctive forearm tattoo.

When confronted, he admitted they had been seeing each other for months.

Then there is the overlooked trail left by digital receipts, like my friend who discovered a $38 parking charge outside a well-known brothel on an afternoon. Her partner claimed to be at work, which, for the record, is nowhere near the brothel. He tried to argue that the parking app had recorded the wrong location, apparently unaware that it also listed the exact time he entered and left.

This is what makes modern infidelity so dangerous for the incredibly stupid people attempting it. Once upon a time, a cheater only had to keep their story straight and make sure they didn’t come home with lipstick or perfume on their shirt. Oh, those were the days!

Now they have to get ahead of every device, shared account, iCloud connection and algorithm quietly recording their movements – and pray none of them sends their partner a helpful notification.

For today’s cheater, deleting a text from your phone is now about as useful as shutting the bedroom door while the rest of your house livestreams the evidence.

So, unless you’re a tech genius, I’d suggest you focus on the relationship you’ve committed to instead of playing away.

And on a personal note: Husbands, stay out of my damn DMs.