JB- I'll admit, the idea of the show at first was a little bit stupid, but now I'm hooked. Like millions of others, I'm fascinated, I'm obsessed. One week my PVR didn't tape it and I was so pissed. For those who aren't familiar with the show, what is Cheaters all about?
JG- Basically, if someone suspects that their significant other -- their husband or wife -- is not being faithful, and they're unable to get any further with any information, they'll contact our show. Our detectives will follow the suspect at that point -- which would be the other party -- to find out if they are in fact being truthful and honest with their partner or not. If they are not, we obviously have the surveillance footage that we will share with our client at that point. And then we will make an attempt to confront the individual with our client with the evidence in hand. That is, in essence, the show.
JB- On the show, you're always offering up the call to the audience that, 'if you suspect your partner is cheating' to get in touch with Cheaters. How many people are actually wanting to spy on their partner? I'm sure the number is surprising considering you're supposed to be able to trust the one you're with.
JG- It's in the thousands that come in per month. I couldn't give you exact figures because I don't really get pulled in on the case until it's nearing its culmination. I know it's quite substantial. There's a department that that's all they do are review cases and make the selections on the ones they deem to be the most compelling. And I think it's a topic that everyone -- and this is probably the part of the popularity of the show -- that it's a topic that everyone can relate to. If it hasn't happened to an individual on one side of the coin or the other, they have been involved in some type of infidelity, or they know someone or are close with someone who has had it happen to them. And I think that's one of the things that's the driving force behind the show is resolving and some type of vindication for those types of situations.
JB- On the flip side of that, how many times have you actually pursued one of these cases and nothing was happening and it was just a big waste of time? How long do they wait before calling it quits?
JG- You know, Jeremy, that would never get to me. I'm sure that's happened, but I think the department that reviews the cases, they do a pretty extensive questionnaire with the folks before they'll accept a case. And they try weed out those that may be more frivolous than others.
JB- What's the longest time you've seen an investigation go to determine if someone is cheating?
JG- A couple months. I think it was about two and a half or three months.
JB- When there is that case of cheating, the burned partner finds out -- like you mentioned earlier, there's often a heated confrontation: yelling, punching, slapping, like a real life Jerry Springer essentially.
JG- That does happen sometimes, however, after a while that really doesn't solve anything because obviously they came to a point in their relationship where there were communication breakdowns of where people weren't getting their needs met, and that's what we try and work passed the confrontation to get more to the resolution. By resolution, I don't mean that they have to get back together. You know, this is a person… these are two people in a relationship that they once cared for one another. Where did that go away? How did that break down? And I think that is more interesting than just a confrontational situation.
JB- We've had some questions sent in for you from our audience. One of them being, "Do you offer couple's counselling to these people after the fact?" Or is it just once you get your moment of TV that that's it? Somebody's wanting to know that.
JG- Actually, if the couples are interested we have and do provide counselling.