A woman on TikTok was applauded for allegedly “dumping” her boyfriend, literally, after she caught him cheating. In a viral video, user Aurora (@auroracheaterbuster) shared a clip of driving her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend to the landfill.
Aurora explains the situation in the text overlay, writing, “My boyfriend thinks I planned a special day for us but in reality I found his Tinder and I’m taking him to a landfill to break up with him and leave him there.”
“Go play with the trash if you want to act like it,” she added in the caption.
Aurora’s clip, posted this month, has earned an astronomical 5 million views. Thousands of viewers hailed her as a hero, and praised her for standing up to her alleged cheating boyfriend.
“Girl you drove him home,” one user wrote. “Very mature of you if you ask me.” Another added, “The way they will fully betray you then sit there excited that you’re planning something special for them legitimately thinking they deserve something special.”
“Loving this era of women knowing their worth,” one user commented.
The majority of the comments were along these lines: Supporting Aurora for her revenge. But how true was her story?
Everything is not as it seems
Taking a look at Aurora’s follow-up TikTok, one starts to see a pattern. In her initial video, Aurora exposes the “cheating boyfriend” as Cole, who she was allegedly able to catch through an app called cheaterbuster.ai. However, a quick search throughout her TikTok account shows that Aurora is in reality promoting the app. In every video, she “confronts” her cheating boyfriend for the first time and shares a screenshot of the app at the end. Furthermore, the website is also linked in her bio.
According to the app’s website, the platform uses AI to search whether your significant other is on any dating apps, like Tinder. It seems Aurora uses her platform to promote the app and most of her viewers are none the wiser. Still, though Aurora didn’t disclose that her TikTok account is 100% marketing, that doesn’t mean women don’t feel the real ramifications of digital infidelity.
Emotional or micro cheating in the digital age
A YouGov survey shared that 33% of Americans say they have cheated on a partner, whether physically or emotionally. But when it comes to online dating, things get a bit murkier. There have been several debates on whether being active on Tinder while in a relationship is considered cheating. Mashable penned an article in 2016 about this very phenomenon.
In the piece titled, “Swiping is the new cheating—or is it?” the author interviewed people who shared differing perspectives on the issue. While what constitutes cheating and what doesn’t is ultimately decided by the couple, Tinder and other dating apps still make things confusing.
“The feeling that you are in contest with thousands of women is destabilising,” one woman told Mashable after finding out her partner was on Bumble. One source saw swiping on Tinder as betrayal, and another considered it cheating only if you’re engaged or married.
A dating blogger shared an advice that precedes the online dating era: If you’re hiding it, you know it’s wrong.
A Psychology Today article explored this further. A couple’s therapist said many might not think cyber affairs are cheating because it isn’t physical, but there’s still a betrayal of trust.
@auroracheaterbuster go play with the trash if you want to act like it #relationship #cheater #cheatergettingcaught #caughtcheating #tinder #datingapp #busted ♬ Where Is My Mind by Pixies SLOWED – avdloss
“The intimacy of a relationship is made up of more,” Dr. Peter Kanaris said. “Closeness, sharing personal feelings, and maintaining a relationship in secret need not involve… relations to break the bond of trust in the primary relationship.”
At the end of the day, if you don’t want your partner to think you’re cheating, just save yourself the headache and delete all dating apps. Otherwise, make it known that you’re not looking for anything serious—and spare them the heartbreak.
The Mary Sue Reached out to Aurora via TikTok direct message and Cheaterbuster via email.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
