Scorned wife Gaylyne Fowler overwhelmed by support for act of revenge on cheating husband

Gaylyne Fowler has been overwhelmed with support for the revenge she took on her cheating husband and his lover by making public nude photos of the other woman. Photo / Ilona Hanne.

Total strangers have come out in support of jilted wife Gaylyne Fowler, who was convicted of objectionable behaviour for posting nude photos of her husband's lover across the small Taranaki town of Hawera.

The 49-year-old mother-of-three said thousands of people from across the country continued to send support after the story made headlines this week.

On Wednesday Fowler was fined $250 for the act of revenge in November last year, seven months after she found out about the affair between her husband of 22 years and a good friend who was also married.

Today she said messages of support were still pouring in on social media including at least one hundred private messages as well as phone calls, all from total strangers.

"I've been inundated with private messages of support. It's been amazing. They're just saying 'Go you, I wish I could have done that'."

She said people even wanted to help pay the fine and offered to send cheques and donations.

"I even had a message on my answer phone last night at home, hoping it was the right Gaylyne Fowler, full of praise.

"So many women have been in the same position I think, and wish they'd spoken out."

Aside from a "few haters, a few sexist men", the theme of the support was one of admiration and empathy.

"They're saying 'You're so brave'. There's a lot of women out there that have been hurt. It's a real sisterhood."

Fowler however was told off by Judge Philip Crayton at Hawera District Court for her actions which included printing off several copies of the nude photographs on to A4 paper and placing them at various organisations and businesses around the town.

Cut-out newspaper letters stuck to the photos named the other woman.

Judge Crayton told Fowler: "Whatever your motives, and however aggrieved you may have felt, you should not have responded in this way".

But Fowler said given the time over she would do the same thing again, although she would prefer not to have a conviction.

She found out about the affair when her husband confessed, initially telling her it was a one-off moment of madness.

However Fowler's older son knew of the affair and copied photographic and video evidence of it from his father's phone and computer.

Eventually Fowler realised it had been going on for more than a year and she filed for divorce - "The hardest but the best thing I've ever done".

She had not spoken to the other woman but said her husband was angry after the story broke.

Fowler's husband did not return a call from the Herald and the other woman did not want to comment.

"She should never have gone that far and I'm taking legal action now," the woman said.

"I'll leave it with the courts, not the media. I've said enough and I think it's gone far enough."

The woman passed the phone to her husband who said the situation had turned to chaos and he and his wife did not want to be involved any further.

"It's just got out of hand at this stage. It's turning chaos," he said.