Shuvrajit Das Biswas
‘Cheaters’ is a popular hidden camera reality series that hits at the core of the human insecurity that exists in relationships. As the name suggests, the show is all about people who commit adultery or cheat on their partners. The “Cheaters Detective Agency” heads the investigations as we get to see the outraged partner confronting the one who’s cheating, often catching them in the act. Over the seasons, ‘Cheaters’ has gained immense popularity, which might make you wonder if it is real.
How Much of Cheaters is Scripted?
‘Cheaters’ has often been accused of being fake, especially after an investigation in 2002, where several people who’d been on the show, were tracked down. They said they’d been paid around $400 per episode by a detective from the agency to appear on ‘Cheaters.’ Furthermore, they received $50 for referrals of other actors. One performer opened up, saying that a private detective from the series told them that some episodes of the show were real, but there’d be ringer episodes to supplement it.
However, the private investigator has denied staging anyone’s scenario and added that the number of inquiries they receive makes the act of staging unnecessary. Although the producers of ‘Cheaters’ currently reiterate the reality of the episode in a legalistic message at the end, a Federal Communications Commission representative has made it clear that there’s no law or regulation preventing acted-out scenarios from being presented as reality on television.
Further investigation has shown that the 2003 episode where host Joey Greco was stabbed is not genuine either. Neither was one of the relationships shown around that time. Reports suggest that Cari Wyatt was paid $500 to appear in an episode and pretend she was having a torrid affair with a guy, while she was engaged to someone else. However, she had not met either man until the day the shooting began and stated it was all fake.
Joey’s stabbing, onboard a boat, is also fake. A Dallas hotel receptionist was paid $350 for a few days of work portraying a woman who’s caught having an affair with the man. Reports suggest that the ambulance was rented, the blood was fake, and everything was scripted, including the person who fell off the boat. The show also claimed that the Rowlett, Texas police apprehended the stabber. However, a police department spokesperson said that there were no arrests in that time for the kind of crime we see on ‘Cheaters.’
When the executive producer and creator, Bobby Goldstein, was confronted, after he stated of being sure that everything on the series is real, he mentioned that the incident was presented to him in a way that he believed it actually occurred. Bobby went on to recollect visiting Joey in the hospital after he’d been stabbed. The executive producer recalls the host looking pale, frail, and scared. However, he seemed courageous, and Bobby ended saying that even if it was all a sham, it was great for ratings. Ultimately, for a show like ‘Cheaters,’ it is best if you look beyond what can be verified and enjoy the drama that plays out.
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