The Pettiest Revenge: How One Scorned Spouse Blocked Her Ex’s New Fiancée From the Email Address of Her Dreams
When life gives you lemons, sometimes you don’t make lemonade—you make sure your ex’s new partner can never, ever have the Gmail address she wants.
That, friends, is the delightfully petty slice of revenge one Redditor served up to her cheating ex and his “gone legit” affair partner. After 17 years together (12 married!) and a daughter, our heroine caught her husband red-handed—thanks to vacation snaps his mistress posted on Instagram. The kicker? He denied it was him in the photos for three days. Sir, please.
Once the truth came out, he bolted—moved in with his student-turned-lover (11 years his junior) two states away, and ghosted all meaningful parenting duties. Now, two years post-divorce, the happy couple may be engaged. But before you cue the wedding bells, our narrator had one more trick up her sleeve.
Petty? Yes. Satisfying? Absolutely.
As the Redditor tells it, she realized she knew her ex’s partner’s current email: firstname.lastname@gmail.com. With marriage looming, it’s only logical the new fiancée might want to snag firstname.exslastname@gmail.com (you know, to match her shiny new surname). But our narrator? She’s one step ahead.
She went ahead and created that very email address. No backup info. No recovery contacts. Just a digital “No Entry” sign forever barring the would-be Mrs. from her ideal inbox. Is it childish? Maybe. Is it victimless? Pretty much. Is it deliciously petty? You bet your best password manager it is.
The Sweet Science of Petty Revenge
There’s a reason r/PettyRevenge is such a beloved subreddit. Not every act of revenge needs to be grand, destructive, or even noticed by the target. Sometimes, the most satisfying victories are the ones that exist purely for your own amusement.
Let’s break down why this email caper hits all the right notes:
- It’s harmless: No one is getting hurt, scammed, or financially impacted. At worst, the new fiancée will have to settle for a less-perfect email.
- It’s low effort, high reward: Five minutes of setup. Years of smug satisfaction.
- It’s poetic justice: After enduring a gaslighting cheater and his undergrad paramour, our narrator gets a tiny, private win.
- It’s untraceable: With no recovery info, there’s no breadcrumb trail to follow. Just a mysterious “that email is already taken” forever.
Why We Love Petty Victories
There’s something deeply cathartic about stories like these. Maybe it’s because we’ve all been wronged, in big or small ways. Maybe it’s because we wish we had the nerve—or the creativity—to pull off a harmless prank against those who did us dirty.
But mainly? It’s the knowledge that sometimes, you really can get the last laugh. Even if it’s just by holding an email address hostage in the digital ether, like a tiny, inconsequential treasure.
Plus, let’s face it: if you’re going to break up a marriage, move in the week of your new step-daughter’s birthday, and then act like you’re starring in a romcom, you probably deserve a little inconvenience when you go to sign up for Gmail.
The Petty Road to Healing
At its core, this isn’t just about emails or exes. It’s about reclaiming a shred of power after being blindsided. It’s about finding humor in heartbreak. And it’s about the universal truth that sometimes, the smallest acts of defiance feel the most delicious.
So here’s to you, u/bongothebean—the hero we didn’t know we needed. You turned a frustrating, painful situation into a story that has thousands of Redditors (and now, blog readers) cackling in solidarity.
Your Turn
Have you ever pulled off a petty revenge scheme? Or are you secretly inspired to grab a few email addresses, just in case? Share your own stories in the comments—after all, the best revenge is shared laughter.
And next time you’re tempted to let someone walk all over you, remember: sometimes, a petty act is exactly what the heart needs.
Read the original Reddit post here and join the conversation!
Original Reddit Post: Cheating ex and his affair partner (gone 'legit) and appear to be betrothed