Spending big bucks on a premarital check doesn't always end with a sound decision. Raymond recalls a case last year when a woman in her 30s paid him a four-figure sum to tail her boyfriend for a month. The man told her he was a manager at a reputable technology company and claimed that he owned a luxury car, HDB flat and posh condo. But she suspected something was up when he kept picking her up for dates in a taxi and moved into her HDB flat within a mont. He also refused to show her either of his properties.
Raymond's investigations confirmed her suspicions: "There was basically nothing - no condo, no car, no flat". His occupation was also suspect as he was constantly spotted in the day dressed sloppily in a T-shirt, shorts and running shoes. "How could he be a manager?" says Raymond, adding that he never found out his real job.
Despite all this, the woman decided to give the relationship a shot, as she was "very keen" to get married. Last he heard, they planned to tie the knot late last year.
He says that this is something he sees occasionally: girlfriends sticking with their men even after paying a PI huge sums to discover their lies, "secret" partying habits and indicretions.
"They still want to get married in spite of what they find out. They feel they can overlook these things because of love," he says, adding that he finds women more "forgiving" about their partners' indiscretions than men.
"Some women believe they will never find anyone else as good," explains clinical psychologist Dr Vanessa Von Auer at VA Psychology Center.
"Although they feel like they don't have much control over their man's lust, they would rather know the truth than worry themselves sick wondering about it."
"And some believe so strongly in their man's ability to change that they forgive these mistakes," she adds.
True devotion or blind faith? The jury's still out.
*Names have been changed.
