Identical notes expose boyfriend's huge lie

For three-and-a-half years Catherine Garrod was in a relationship with a "charming and attentive" man who was "great at writing cards" with "heartfelt" messages.

Then his other girlfriend got in touch.

According to Metro.co.uk, Garrod received a message on Facebook one day from a woman who thought Garrod was having an affair with her partner.

"When she found me she assumed I was the affair," Garrod said. "But when she went through my Facebook profile she realised we had been together for a long time."

As they talked, they realised they'd not just been led to believe they were both the man's one and only, they also discovered they'd been gifted the same "heartfelt" letter among many.

Garrod said the "other woman" sent "photos of cards he had written telling her how much he loved her". It was here they found the identical message and decided to band together.

They had both been introduced to his parents and drove to their house to confront the family.

While Garrod said she hadn't seen his parents for some time, because she lives 45 minutes away, the other woman lived just around the corner and visited often.

They were stunned to learn his parents knew about his secret double life.

"I just don't understand where their morals were. These are the people I thought were nice," said Garrod.

The women contacted police but were told the situation wasn't considered serious enough to lay coercive control charges.

Garrod has since launched a petition to define "leading a double life" as domestic abuse.