subject: New website that exposes cheaters saves one woman from marrying Mr. Wrong! [print this page] Cathy Martin's wedding wasn't going to be anything elaborate or fancy, just an intimate affair with a few family members and close friends on the back lawn of her Seattle, WA home. On September 25th, the one year anniversary of her first date with fianc Brian, she would walk down the rock path they had laid together, that led from the house to the gazebo, which would be decorated with pink and lavender paper flowers that she and her best girlfriends had been making over the last six weeks. She couldn't wait for Brian to see her in her gown, a simple organza dress with an empire waist and pink satin trim.
She was on the computer trying to finalize the design for her wedding cake, which a friend had generously offered to make for her, when a pop up window interrupted Cathy's online search. "There was this ominous looking pumpkin floating around the screen." she says, "I thought it was some sort of Halloween ad." But before she automatically closed out the window, as most of us do with those annoying pop up ads, a tag line caught her eye. "It said Cheater, Cheater.Busted!', so I stopped and read the rest."
On the Pumpkin Eaters website, a "Bust a Cheater" form (which is free to fill out and send in) allows you to expose someone you claim is cheating on their significant other. Posts are listed by state, then cities within each state and provide the alleged cheaters first name, last initial and the name or description of who they are supposedly cheating with. For $4.99, a search of the website database, called a "Cheater Report" will provide the subscriber with the cheaters full name (and the full name of the person they are cheating with if available), a description of how they were caught and by whom.
"I actually clicked on my state and looked at my city expecting to find my ex-boyfriend cheating on his new wife." Cathy says, "Instead, there was Brian's name, and he was apparently cheating with some woman at work!" Cathy paid the $4.99, and received her "Cheater Report" a couple of days later. "I was devastated." she says sadly. "I knew from the specific information they had, that it was true. He was cheating on me." Just to be sure, Cathy called in sick the very next day and went on a "stake out", as she calls it, outside her fianc's place of work. Sure enough, that afternoon she saw Brian and his co-worker take a romantic lunch together, holding hands and kissing. "I took a picture with my cell phone so he would know I was there and caught him, then I went home and packed his bags." Now, shortly before what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, she is grateful she took the time to read the site. "I had no idea he was cheating, not a clue." Cathy says. "Marrying him would have been the biggest mistake of my life!"
In an age where it isn't uncommon for one partner to have a background check done on the other before making any sort of permanent commitment, and private investigators are making tons of cash catching cheating partners, a site like Pumpkin Eaters was inevitable. There are thousands of names listed, which means that many more brides like Cathy could be spared from making a lifetime commitment to someone who is being unfaithful. However, not everyone thinks posting information on cheaters is a good thing.
"What if it's a lie?" asks Nancy, a registered nurse from Phoenix, AZ in response to an opinion poll about the site. "People who are trying to break up relationships could say anything they want!" Other comments included "What if someone is just trying to hurt someone else?" and "It could ruin the trust in a relationship for no reason." In its defense, the Pumpkin Eaters site does have a disclaimer posted on almost every page stating: "Please remember that Pumpkin Eaters is an information sharing site only! We do not investigate or check facts, please do not assume that the information we post is correct!", so it really is up to the individual to decide, or find out, what the truth is. Cathy Martin believes the site gave her invaluable information. "After I caught him, Iconfronted the person who reported him. She said she had wanted to tell me for months, but didn't want to hurt me. I'm so grateful to her for letting me know what a jerk he is before it was too late!"
Is Pumpkin Eaters the devil's work or guardian angels at work? To view the site, go to http://cheaterpumpkineater.com and decide for yourself.
New website that exposes cheaters saves one woman from marrying Mr. Wrong!
