11 People Share Things They Saw on Partners’ Phone That Changed Their Relationship Forever

Trust in relationships either feel as solid as walking on concrete or flimsy like tiptoeing on a tightrope. One of the many things that could shake trust in a bond is access to each other’s phones. Many might be tempted to get a glimpse of their partner’s chats. For these people, they just had to see for themselves.

1.

I was borrowing my boyfriend Andy’s phone when a text popped up. Lucy: “Hey, Andy! Tonight at 8. Your place?” I froze. With shaky hands, I opened the message, bracing myself for the worst. But instead of anger, I was puzzled.

I saw pictures of piano sheet music. His hands on the keys. A little girl sitting next to him, grinning, holding up two fingers like it was a victory sign. Turns out Lucy is eight. She’s the neighbor’s kid. He’s been helping her practice for her piano recital, which she’s apparently keeping secret from her parents.

She wrote stuff like: “Don’t forget 🕵️‍♀️💥” and “Can we do the middle part like 10 times this time, I swear I’ll get it 🎹😅” I backed out before he could see me looking. He still doesn’t know I saw it.

But the guy who doesn’t use emojis? Who triple-checks every text he sends because he hates sounding “weird”? He sends a dozen sparkly stickers to a kid just so she feels like a star. I didn’t say anything. But that was the moment I knew—he’s one of the good ones.

2.

My GF (now ex) had her email open on her desktop. Saw an email to her best friend about me while she was in shower. Didn’t mean to click on. I tried not to be nosey, but I saw my name.

So, I read the email as I was really insecure. I’m glad I checked, some friends had warned she was “too pretty” for me. What I read shocked me. She was gushing to her friend about how she felt in love for the first time...blah blah blah.

She went on and on how I was perfect for her, and she’d never felt so safe and understood, and I was the “one”. But she said I lacked confidence (I knew she had dated a model before dating slightly above average me) but she was going to deal with that fear, she expounded on to her friend.

Long story short, she’s my ex-fiancée and now wife of 21 years. Never told her I saw that email, but man, that and her actions have made me the most confident husband and happy person. © MessImpossible13 / Reddit

3.

Not me, but my SIL. Said her then boyfriend (now husband) handed her his phone to check the weather or an order status or something menial like that. Said when he handed it to her, he accidentally left it open in his investing app. She didn’t poke around too much but saw the obvious 3-4 million in his account.

She never mentioned it but said a month or two later as things got more serious between them, he said, “Hey, we need to have a talk.” And she was worried. But said, “Ok, what is it?” And he said, “I’m privately wealthy, and I want to marry you, so if we in fact continue this relationship, you probably don’t ever have to worry about money.”

Fast-forward a few years, they are married. Have a kid. My SIL makes 6-figures working in finance. He quit his job but opened a business doing custom wood working. © Nastynugget / Reddit

4.

I (29M) did something I swore I’d never do — I checked my girlfriend’s (27F) phone while she was asleep. She’d been acting weird lately, not distant exactly, just secretive. When her phone buzzed at 2AM, I cracked. I opened it, half-expecting to find flirty texts or something shady. Instead, I found a note saved in her app titled “For Him.”

I opened it and immediately felt like the worst person alive. It was a running list of all my favorite things — from my comfort snacks to the exact way I like my coffee, even little notes about how I talk in my sleep. At the bottom, it said something like, “Planning something special for his promotion. He deserves to feel seen.”

I stared at it for a good ten minutes before the guilt crushed me so hard I had to wake her up and confess. She blinked at me, laughed, and said, “Dummy. That was also your birthday note, you weren’t supposed to see it.” I apologized a million times, but she wasn’t mad, just called me a soft paranoid nerd. I’ll never snoop again — but yeah, I might also propose soon.

5.

I went through my partner’s phone after he passed away from cancer last year. I had to find contact numbers for a few friends not on the funeral list we made. In his Notes app, I found phrases he used in his letters to me, as we often wrote to each other when he was in hospital and visiting times were short.

English was not his first language, and I hadn’t realized how hard he had practiced in order to say what he wanted to say. I sent myself a copy of those notes and look at them often. © charlie1701 / Reddit

6.

His messenger chats with my mom. He jokes with my mom a lot and would always ask about me, what I was like as a kid, why am I so full of energy and how to take care of me.

My mom had cancer and passed away in 2023, but their last messages to each other was him assuring her he’d take care of me the way she wants to. © Chispiken / Reddit

7.

I found proof that she was cheating. So, I took a video with my own phone of all the proof.

I then confronted her that I knew she was cheating, but didn’t tell her how. She confessed to cheating with an entirely different person than what I had proof of. Wild times lol. © discount******* / Reddit

8.

A close friend of mine separated from her husband, and he moved into the upstairs apartment in their house. After a year or so later, he became very sick with a rare condition. She cared for him, and he died 9 months later.

In that year he openly became close with a former long ago classmate she had never previously heard of and that classmate started staying over with him etc. My friend was super jealous and didn’t like her at all.

Fast-forward — he died — and she had access to everything of his. And found out that he was totally platonic with that other woman she didn’t like, just close friends. And she found all the videos of him sleeping with someone he had worked with, who was 30 years younger than him, who was often around in plain sight. She never had an inkling. Nothing. © 1_art_please / Reddit

9.

She left a Facebook Messenger conversation between her and her friend open on her computer. I saw the messages, and it was her complaining how much time I spent at her apartment and that I was smothering her by always being around.

I was surprised by this, as she’d have a breakdown and accuse me of abandoning her when I’d leave to stay at my own place for a few days. © ******camphero / Reddit

10.

I found a hidden folder in his phone with screenshots of other girls’ Instagram stories, girls we both knew. Some were mutual friends. They were regular images, but the captions he added to the pics were gross and inappropriate.

It felt violating. Not because he cheated, but because I saw a side of him that made my skin crawl. I never said a word. Just quietly started planning my exit, told my friends. Have not seen him since, he deleted socials, no idea what happened to him. © itzAva_ / Reddit

11.

So I struggle with a lot of things physically and mentally, which is important in regard to what I found. There was one day my fiancé had asked me to look for something in their Notes app. I noticed one that was titled “help them” and I let my curiosity get the better of me. I absolutely fell in love with what I found.

Inside of it was my fully detailed care plan that my psych team had given them for when I have my extremely bad days. It had everything from what foods I consider safe to how to get my service dog to perform tasks with them directing her instead of me, to even which meds/treatments are going to work during what.

In the past, my parents have been the only ones to take my care plans seriously. I’ve never told my fiancé to this day that I saw that (and this was nearly two years ago that I saw it) but since then it just solidified for me and my family that I’m 100% marrying the right person. © SweetFlowerBoi / Reddit

Whether on accident or on purpose, people can uncover heavy secrets when checking their partners’ phones. Either way, in this digital world, giving your phone to someone is like the biggest test of faith. That said, here are some phone habits that could be damaging to any relationship.