YaVaughnie Wilkins went volcanic when she learned that her married lover of 8 ½ years, President Obama’s adviser Charles E. Phillips, decided to end their romantic trysts and reconcile with his wife. Shelling out a quarter million for gigantic billboards in several prominent American cities, Wilkins exposed the secret relationship by showing the couple in loving embraces, complete with a Web site to learn more details about the illicit affair (the Web site is now defunct).
This is a lesson, and a rather humiliating and public one, that the wealthy Phillips had to learn: the Internet, modern television and some ingenuity have armed jilted lovers with added ammunition to eke out retribution for their trampled feelings. There is a new methodology for bringing clandestine relationships into the open for all to see and digest.
There are myriad of other ways to put the ex-lover on “‘front street.” The “Maury” show has long provided young shattered lives the opportunity to channel their aggression and expose the ex-lover on national television.
The Web site, www.dontdatehimgirl.com, is pretty self-explanatory. DDHG, as it calls itself, says it is “a powerful online resource for women and men seeking counsel and community about love, sex, dating, relationships and marriage,” it says on its site. “Our users, men and women alike, share their experiences with each other in hopes of helping others who are struggling with similar relationship problems. Our love experts offer a wealth of great advice whether you’re a savvy singleton or romantically involved in a relationship.”
And who hasn’t seen “Cheaters” syndicated television show at least once. That “Cheaters” has entered its 10th season tells you all you need to know about its popularity and ability to bring to the surface — unquestionably and for all to see —what the jilted lover or spouse suspects about their significant other.
And must we even broach the topic of text messaging and what it has done for the relationships and marriages of Tiger Woods and Shaquille O’Neal?
Bottom line is this: cheating in the new millennium is not only rife with multiple hazards, it comes with the very real potential to detonate your carefully cultivated image all over yourself and the others who trusted you, hired you, befriended you, engaged in business dealings with you, and especially those who depend upon your sage advice on issues of national import. Just ask Charles Phillips.
–terry shropshire
