Commenters are offering words of encouragement to a woman who said she found lewd photos of her sisters on her now-ex-fiancé's computer.
Posting to TikTok on March 8 under the name Maria (@lifebymaria), the woman wrote: "Everything done in the dark comes to light." The post has garnered more than 759,000 views and over 39,000 likes while highlighting an important relationship lesson.
"Imagine being engaged, 3 months away from your dream wedding, invitations are sent, and on a random Thursday finding out your fiancé has been hiding a [porn] folder which includes photos of your sisters and his coworkers," Maria wrote in her video's text overlay. The video behind the text was of hot air balloons above a city.
Though the video ends there, Maria took to the comments section to further explain that she found the photos while using her ex-fiancé's computer to apply for a job.
"He was helping me apply for a job [because] my computer wasn't working," wrote Maria.
"[H]e downloaded my resume to his work computer and...when he clicked on the [downloads] folder file I saw photos of my sisters & others. He said he would stare at the photos during work and picture them [naked] because he was 'bored' and it was a thrill for him to do so during work," she concluded.
In response to a commenter who said Maria "saved" herself and the other women involved, Maria admitted that in hindsight, her ex-fiancé had exhibited "a lot of red flags."
Speaking to InStyle, matchmaker Susan Trombetti said it's common for people to overlook their partners' red flags, especially in the beginning stages of a relationship.
"People can be emotionally charged and ignore the red flags in the beginning, or find a way to deceive themselves to lessen the impact because sometimes they just don't want to face reality," Trombetti said. "Other times, they just miss them if their picker is off or they lack boundaries."
Trombetti added that some people can only see red flags in "hindsight," after a relationship has ended.
While some red flags—such as "love bombing," "gaslighting" and "downright abusive behavior"—are an indication that a relationship needs to end immediately, others are are an "opportunity to pause, assess the situation, and decide if you should continue investing time in this person," Trombetti explained.
"If you spot a relationship red flag, don't ignore it and hope it goes away on its own," said InStyle.
Maria's viewers were quick to offer their support and agreed she'd dodged a bullet.
"This guy has some issues, that isn't normal behavior. Luckily you can walk away without kids. You'll find the good guy," wrote Mayra200687.
"Someone was watching out for you. It hurts to know someone you love has the capacity to destroy everything. I hope you see that life will get better," said Together.
"Stay strong!!" exclaimed KG. "Glad you found out before the wedding."
Kaytlin Christensen added: "You [dodged] a bullet my dear. It isn't easy to heal but you saved yourself so much future pain and problems down the line."
Newsweek reached out to Maria for additional comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Of course, Maria's breakup story isn't the first of its kind to garner online attention. In January, a woman went viral on Reddit after sharing that she'd sold her engagement ring to cover the costs of her canceled wedding.
In October, a man was praised for his post in Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" forum, in which he shared he convinced his niece to break up with her fiancé, who purportedly refused to disclose his salary to his bride-to-be.
And on Sunday, a woman went viral on Mumsnet when she said her ex-fiancé called off their wedding and subsequently gave their canceled wedding date and venue to his daughter.
