'AITA for exposing my girlfriend and best friend at the worst possible moment?' 'It’s NOT what it looks like!'

"AITA for exposing my girlfriend and best friend at the worst possible moment?"

So, this happened a few nights ago, and I’m still trying to process the mess. I (29M) had been dating my girlfriend (27F) for almost three years. She was the one, or so I thought. We were talking about moving in together, maybe even getting engaged in the next year. I had never had a single reason to doubt her loyalty.

My best friend (30M), Jake, has been in my life since high school. We’ve been through everything together—college, breakups, job struggles—you name it. He was family to me. He was also really close with my girlfriend, but I never thought anything of it.

Then, last weekend, I went out with some coworkers for drinks. I got home earlier than expected and walked into my apartment to find my girlfriend and Jake in my bed. At first, they didn’t see me. They were laughing—not just hooking up, but giggling like a couple of teenagers. That part hit me even harder than what they were actually doing.

I must have made a noise because my girlfriend turned and her face went pale. Jake just sat there, looking like he wanted to sink into the mattress. She immediately started crying, saying, "It’s not what it looks like!" (which, like… really?)

I was in shock. Total autopilot. I just backed out of the room and left. Here’s where I might be the a^%le. Instead of dealing with this privately, I called every single person in our friend group and told them exactly what I walked in on. I even texted her parents, because I knew they adored Jake and had always said he was like a second son to them.

Now, my ex is telling me I ruined her life and that I should have handled it like an adult. Jake is saying I "blew things out of proportion" and that it was just a "drunken mistake." But honestly? I don’t feel bad. They made their choices, now they can deal with the fallout. So, AITA for putting them on blast instead of keeping it private? Or did they deserve everything they got?

Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:

Alinaafavv said:

ABSOLUTELY NTA. You walked into YOUR home and found YOUR best friend in the worst possible way. The fact they were not only cheating but laughing together like a happy couple makes it even worse…

Impossible_Buy_2712 said:

NTA. Any decent person would not put themselves in an intimate situation unless they really wanted something to happen. They can justify it all they want and gaslight you, but they did this to themselves.

Pale_Cranberry1502 said:

NTA. There aren't kids involved, which would change everything. As long as that's the case, and they can't do tit for tat, go for it.

blonde1psp said:

NTA, they cheated, and my petty self would have done the same thing, cheating is not ok.

RepulsiveWorker3636 said:

NTA, exposing cheaters is always the best option especially in your case. Laughing together in bed actually your bed shows comfort it means they probably have been cheating for a while and not a drunken mistake now they can't came up with a story to make you the bad guy. Block both of them and if she has anything at your place, box it up and have a friend pick it up.

Dendens said:

NTA. They played dumb games and won dumb prizes