By
Inside Edition
Updated:
9:54 AM PST, November 14, 2013
Every week, millions of viewers watch the hit reality show Cheaters to see people committing acts of infidelity.
Looking at the show, you'd think the people apparently cheating on their spouses or lovers would show a little more discretion, but on the show they're often caught in the most public places. When Cheaters has enough of the gotcha video, the host, Clark Gable II - yes he's the grandson of the famous actor Clark Gable - approaches the cheaters for the dramatic and sometimes outrageous confrontation.
The show's producers declare at the very beginning of every show that it's all real. You can hear the show’s announcer stating: "You are about to view actual true stories, filmed live."
But is it? We decided to investigate Cheaters and found that the show may be doing a bit of cheating of its own.
In one episode, a guy named Cody learns his "girlfriend" of three years is cheating on him with, of all people, his own cousin, Robby. What ensues is a violent confrontation. The two cousins appear to be mortal enemies fighting over the same girlfriend, but we found a very different story.
INSIDE EDITION’s Lisa Guerrero asked Cody, “Did you ever date her?”
“No,” replied Cody.
Guerrero asked Robby, “Did you ever date her?”
“No,” answer Robby.
“So this is completely fake?” asked Guerrero.
“Completely,” said Robby.
Cody told Guerrero how the entire fight was choreographed beforehand. “We bust in the back (of the house), we go around the side and this is where I say, ‘Honey, I'm home.’ She dives off him and leaves me the prefect angle just to boom.”
Cody's cousin gets caught up in the sheets; the pummeling is non-stop. “So, I'm on top of him hitting him and I'm whispering to him, ‘get out of the sheets,’ I'm like boom, boom, boom, Robby get out of the sheets,” explained Cody.
The action spills into the yard. They say the producers then had Robby run up a ladder to the roof of the garage to escape his cousin's wrath.
Guerrero asked, “So, did you guys know ahead of time that the ladder was going to be here and you were going to go up the ladder?”
“Definitely,” said Robby.
“So, that was pre-planned?” asked Guerrero.
Cody confirmed, “Definitely. So, they said once he was up there, they said go crazy on him.”
And Cody did, throwing a garbage pail and spraying his cousin with a handy water hose. In the middle of all the action, Clark Gable II tries to interview the combatants.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Six months,” answers the woman in the middle of the scene.
Guerrero asked the cousins, “Clark Gable is the host. Was he in on it, did he know all this was fake?”
“Yeah, him and the producer are all putting it together while we are here,” Cody responded.
INSIDE EDITION caught up with Clark Gable II in Dallas where Cheaters is based. He tells Guerrero, “Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn and Cheaters is 100% real.”
“Clark, we've spoken to two people that say that Cheaters is staged and you're in on it. How do you respond?” asked Guerrero.
“My response to that is that they are saying what they've been told to say by somebody. That sounds to me that it’s a fabrication of what they experienced that night,” replied Gable.
“So, these are real stories, where real couples are facing situations of cheating?” asked Guerrero.
“Absolutely,” answered Gable.
“So, they aren't actors?” she asked.
“They aren't actors. These are 110% real people,” Gable confirmed.
We found other instances of apparent fakery on Cheaters. In one episode a young woman finds out her boyfriend, a drummer, is cheating on her and confronts him during a rehearsal. But according to the owner of this recording studio, it was all faked. He says he actually overheard the planning of the episode on his building's extensive security system.
Guerrero asked, “What did you hear on your security audio?”
“I hear one of the directors coaching the female actor, the person who was being cheated on what to say and what to do,” said the studio owner.
The show's creator and executive producer is Bobby Goldstein, who insists all the stories on Cheaters are true.
Guerrero asked Goldstein, “We've been watching the show and it has come to our attention in several of the episodes these are not real people in real relationships. They are people who have in fact been coached and the fights have been choreographed and it's fake. What do you have to say to that?”
“Nothing,” he replied.
“You don't care that your show's fake?” she asked.
“I care, but there is nothing I can say,” Goldstein replied.
“Do you owe the audience the truth?” asked Guerrero.
“I owe my audience 43 minutes of entertaining amusement on a subject matter that's important to them, and that's what I owe them,” he stated.
Guerrero asked Cody and Robby, “Do you guys feel like you cheated the viewers of Cheaters by faking this?”
Cody answered, “No, because we put on such a good show. The majority of the people don't realize that it was fake.”
FAQs
Do cheaters admit to cheating? ›
Unfortunately, when someone is cheating, it is not likely that they will be honest about this behavior. If you suspect that your partner is engaging in lying behavior, there are ways how to tell if someone is lying about cheating.
What percentage of cheaters continue to cheat? ›That is, the study controlled for age, gender, socioeconomic status, and race. In this new study, 45 percent of individuals who reported cheating on their partner in the first relationship reported also doing so in the second. Among those who had not cheated in the first, far fewer (18 percent) cheated in the second.
Why do cheaters not admit cheating? ›Some people want to make things right again and confess so their partner will forgive them, but others try to forget it ever happened in hopes their partner will never discover the truth. This is an excuse to avoid the bitter reality of what might happen after confessing. Guilt doesn't disappear after coming clean.
Do cheaters ever regret cheating? ›Some feel really bad and truly regret it, others not as much. But no matter how much guilt or remorse a cheating person expresses outwardly, they all feel it inwardly to some extent. Cheaters are often able to separate themselves from their feelings and conscience.
How many cheaters confess? ›Most people who cheat have been married for 20 to 30 years and are between the age of 50 and 60. More than 50% of cheating spouses, both men and women, on a Truth About Deception (TAD) survey say they confessed to their spouse about their affair.
How do cheaters act when they get caught? ›Cheaters often react to an accusation of cheating with denial, showing no guilt signs. This can be a simple 'no' or more of a statement of unwillingness to accept the accusation. Whatever the form, denial is likely to be one of the first responses to allegations of cheating.
What is the average of cheaters? ›Among married couples, national surveys show that 15% of women and 25% of married men have cheated on their spouses. A cheating spouse does not necessarily mean the end of one's marriage.
Do all cheaters eventually get caught? ›Coming to the question of how many affairs are discovered, a survey by IllicitEncounters.com (a dating site for extramarital affairs) revealed that 63% of cheaters have been caught at some point. Most of them were caught during their third affair.
Should you be with someone who cheated on you? ›Ultimately, there is no set formula for whether you should stay together or not. You and your partner will need to decide both individually and together if there are enough positive elements in your relationship to make the difficult work of healing worthwhile.
Will cheaters get karma? ›That's karma in simple words. Cheaters karma is quite similar as well. If you have made bad decisions in your relationship and treated your partner poorly, deceived them, and broken their heart by fooling around, then there are chances you will face karma's wrath.
Why do cheaters try to justify? ›
Often people who cheat tell themselves that their behavior is justified because their partner doesn't really care about them and therefore wouldn't care if they strayed. They might justify their actions by blaming their S.O. for not showing them enough affection or not seeming to care about them anymore.
How can you tell if someone is lying about cheating? ›- They Accuse You of Cheating. ...
- A Change Away From Baseline Behavior. ...
- They Don't Make Eye Contact. ...
- They've Lied About Other Things. ...
- They Tell You to Trust Them. ...
- They've Seemingly Forgotten How to Apologize.
Forgiveness is the antidote and a way for you to move on. However, it's a personal choice whether to do so. Can you forgive a cheater? In short, yes, but learning how to forgive someone for cheating means understanding what forgiveness actually means — only then can you achieve it.
How long do relationships last after cheating? ›A study conducted by the American Psychological Association showed that among married couples who experienced infidelity but then underwent couples therapy, 53% were divorced after 5 years. By comparison, only 23% of couples who did not experience an affair were divorced after 5 years, which is a huge disparity.
Does cheaters deserve a second chance? ›If they are willing to learn from their mistakes to avoid repeating them, this can be a positive sign that the relationship may be able to be preserved. If, however, the cheater shows little to no desire to repair the relationship, it might not be wise or healthy to give them a second chance.
How does a narcissist act when caught cheating? ›What if you catch them in the act? Then they might blame you for their cheating. They may think of a dozen reasons why it was allegedly your behavior that made them seek attention outside your relationship or marriage. Narcissists will say anything to turn the focus away from them and blame it on someone else.
What signs someone lying about cheating? ›Becoming defensive could be a common sign of a lying partner. For example, when you confront and interrogate them, they might overreact and become defensive. Even when you inquire with an innocent question, they doubt intentions and tend to take offense and respond harshly.
How does an innocent person react when accused of cheating? ›Doubt can quickly turn to denial, as most innocent people will firmly deny any claims of cheating. This denial is often based on the belief that their moral code and values would never lead them to cheat in any capacity.