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Movies and TV shows portray the job of a private investigator as very exciting and always finding out long-kept secrets. However, in reality it can get a bit boring with all the cheating cases and dead-ends where there is nothing more to be found.

Even though most private investigation stories are not movie-worthy, the sole fact of hiring a private investigator for a regular person is an unusual event in itself and is an interesting story to hear. There were a lot of such stories shared on Reddit when MoonPrismPowerUp asked, “Redditors who have hired a private investigator, what did you discover?”

From the stereotypical cases of finding out someone’s spouse was cheating on them to being investigated by a PI themselves, people were not afraid to reveal the drama they witnessed or got involved in.

More info: Reddit

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My sister hired a PI for her child support/custody trial. She wanted to dig up some dirt on the guy I guess. (Baby girl was months old) BB daddy made very good money as the owner of a HVAC company but didn’t have a place to stay. He stayed in his warehouse. My sisters concern was, what does he do when he has the baby. Turns out when he had her he would rent rooms out in really nice hotels for stays. He’d spend the majority of the days walking her in the parks, having picnics and driving to non local destinations like state/regional parks, zoo’s. Got to see some of the pictures. Big a** 6’3” 300lb stocky body builder type guy, (think mountain from GOT) solo, pushing stroller and diaper bags in tow looking like only his daughter was the only thing that mattered. Dude is genuinely a good father with social anxiety issues.

KoKeNo , mliu92 Report

Final score:
881points
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Zophra
Zophra
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like a great dad - I wonder how thsi turned out.

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#2

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Worked for a law firm that routinely hired PI’s to investigate workers comp claimants. One particular juicy bust involved a guy claiming a major back injury. PI got a whole days video of him doing a roofing job. Hauling big packs of shingles up a ladder, s**t like that. They went to mediation ready to drop the video on this guy when he shows up in a wheelchair being pushed by his twin brother. The PI had been following the twin all day. Fastest check I’ve ever seen written by an insurance company.

caverndiver , Banalities Report

Final score:
746points
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#3

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group I hire a private investigator about once a year to give me an update on my stalker, to ensure he’s not looking for me again. It costs a lot of money, but I sleep easier.

Also, stalker is passing of cancer and I feel pretty good about that.

myotheregg , Aniket Suryavanshi Report

Final score:
538points
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Jane Jane
Jane Jane
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It must be terrifying to have a stalker much less one that goes on for years.

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#4

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My old work did it for an ex senior manager, hoping to ruin him or something (horrible, bitter company).

Anyway, they got all excited about his meeting with a younger woman, drafted up the letters saying they'd expose him etc. All very sordid.

Till they found out it was his daughter he was meeting during her lunch break.

Some people truly only see darkness...

ThanklessTask , bryansblog Report

Final score:
447points
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#5

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My brother hired a PI against me. And then, when the PI couldn’t find anything, my brother wanted me to reimburse him for hiring the PI. Because “I misled him into thinking I was hiding something when I said I wasn’t hiding anything”

To answer the questions:

it was about money

yes, he is stupid

yes, he believes Qanon

yes, I still have some contact with him because he is the victim of his own stupidity

no, he is not my favorite brother. My other two are amazing

his name is not Dwight Schrute

Pepper_in_my_pants , Andy Wright Report

Final score:
437points
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Mary Rose Kent
Mary Rose Kent
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You’re doing filial relationships right. My two youngest brothers had a falling out and the youngest one made a decision that the three older kids (all well into adulthood at this point, BTW) had to choose between them. I continued to have a relationship with the other brother because we have so much more in common, and so I haven’t seen or spoken to the youngest in DECADES. Only our mother is exempt. It’s utterly ridiculous.

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#6

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My Aunt hired a PI because she suspected her husband of cheating on her. The stereotypical "Why does he have to stay at work for so long all of the sudden?" Instead she found out that he stayed at work after he was done so he could play poker and crack a cold one in peace. When she confronted him about it, he got so mad, flying into a rage that he confessed to her how annoying and controlling she actually is. They worked it out, saved their marriage and built a house though.

[deleted] , ActiveSteve Report

Final score:
412points
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#7

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group That, as I suspected, my husband (and I use that term loosely) was in fact already married to someone else.

Two wives in two different states and a convenient military job that required him to be “away” (at the other house) a lot.

Hiring the PI saved both of us wives because she was clueless about what was going on.

Vegetable_soup_0629 , Debra McCraw Report

Final score:
410points
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Don't Look
Don't Look
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one is just like that movie about the airline pilot with the two families in two different states.

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#8

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My friend hired someone only to find out his wife was just eating out alone in parking lots without him lol

never___nude , Samuel Hansen Report

Final score:
401points
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MarmotArchivist
MarmotArchivist
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wife turns around mouth covered in mariana sauce. 'it's not what it looks like, I swear!'

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#9

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Not me, but the insurance agency I worked for. We got this strange claim about children that were hurt in a frontal collision while the parents filed no claim for themselves. The collision was against a wall.

A few things in their account of the accident didn't check out so the comp agent tasked an investigator.

Investigator found out the parents sat their two children in the backseat with fastened seatbelts, then put a rock on the accelerator pedal to crash the car in the wall and get compensated for their children's injuries. Needless to say, while we did pay for the children's care, parents got no penny and ended having to deal with CPS.

Doumtabarnack , Eric Gravengaard Report

Final score:
388points
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Mary Rose Kent
Mary Rose Kent
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope CPS took their children away and found them caring parents.

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#10

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My uncle did this, he found out that his wife was sleeping with their pastor and they found out their pastor was also a drug dealer. It was a crazy couple weeks hearing everything come out.

TR_KingCobrah , WELSTech Podcast Report

Final score:
386points
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#11

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Not me but my father-in-law and his sisters hired one because they found out their father had given their oldest sister up for adoption. They were in their 30’s and wanted to find her.

Turns out the PI didn’t need to work too hard because she was an executive at NBC in Florida. Everyone else lives in Canada. I’ve got to meet her a few times and she’s terribly nice.

SirNearytheWise , Richard Masoner Report

Final score:
352points
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#12

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Not me but a friend hired a PI to find out if the PI he originally hired had started to sleep with my friends' wife... Turns out he had XD

looopTools , pxhere Report

Final score:
349points
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#13

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Friend hired a private investigator to look into her boyfriend who she thought was cheating on her. The dude wasn't cheating, he was plotting his proposal.

aiwooqia , Rodrigues with an S Report

Final score:
318points
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Zophra
Zophra
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Crap. That is not a good beginning for a lifetime of trust.

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#14

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My mother hired one against my dad cause she thought the he was cheating. She found out what I've been telling her, and that was that my dad was an overworked guy and was tired of her s**t and just stayed at my brother's house

Bones301 , hiroo yamagata Report

Final score:
315points
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#15

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My coworker hired one to track down his first car he ever owned so he could buy it back. Cleanest E28 i've ever seen (in person that is)

mcstanky , Ferrous Büller Report

Final score:
300points
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#16

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group I hired one to follow somebody suing me for a knee and hand injury. The PI put motion cameras outside where he lived, one morning he sent me a picture of guy wearing sunglasses asking me if that was him which it was. PI followed him through several red lights at high speed to a park. He then records him smoking pot and playing frisbee golf without limping. The guy he followed walked up to the PI suspicious but he talked his way out of it. PI fee was money well spent, around $400.

Eastern_Award , Cinetics Report

Final score:
299points
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Pilar
Pilar
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Scamming someone is despicable, but if you're going to do it, at least do it right!

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#17

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group An affair that my wife had been lying to me about for a year. I got incredibly damning photos that I texted to both of them just after calling my wife on the phone and having her lie to me once more.

Seattle_sucks , Donald West Report

Final score:
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#18

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group I hired one once.

He found out my ex was not, in fact, pregnant with my child.

She had just been telling me she was.

Worst six months of my life.

Hirryu , Janine Report

Final score:
241points
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#19

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My vindictive aunt hired one to spy on me and the guy found out quite a bit about me, like my dental records and stuff. I mean, I'm a pretty boring person with nothing to hide so the guy didn't find much to use against me.

KamikazeZero , Joel Bez Report

Final score:
239points
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delphinum4 avatar
Zophra
Zophra
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"What about those 3 cavities, eh? Not flossing enough?"

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#20

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group The wedding planner booking our wedding did in fact not make any reservations, and was planning to steal pretty much every penny we gave them (20k) and leave us weddingless.

NeurotypicalPanda , Veronika Korkushko Report

Final score:
236points
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#21

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group That a scummy competitor who ripped off my branding, 90% word for word on business name, copy and graphics had several serious felony charges. Including getting caught red handed robbing someone at gun point by a passing police officer.

grow_guy , Sara Report

Final score:
226points
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#22

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group I was looking for a lost family member. I discovered he wasn't living anywhere under his name, he wasn't in jail, and that he hadn't collected his VA benefits.

Turns out he was living homeless on the street, but the PI didn't find that part.

ParameciaAntic , James Abbott Report

Final score:
217points
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#23

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group That the dentist who took six sessions to just ruin my tooth (and drill on a sore nerve) wasn't actually allowed to be a dentist. She immigrated, got covered by the medical practice during her stay, and fled back into her country as soon as she realized she did a mistake. Luckily they found her.

OneGhastlyGhoul , pxhere Report

Final score:
214points
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Littlebunnyfufu
Littlebunnyfufu
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not everyone knows you can usually look up licensing online. It's worth it to look up the person's license before you go to them. It will show if they are a) actually licensed and b) if they have any complaints against them. It's worth it. Won't catch everything but at least in this case OP would've known she was unlicensed.

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#24

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group I know no one will see this but... my ex sister in law hired one to get dirt on her oldest brothers ex wife. $8000 later he got information on the wrong person and took pictures of the wrong kids.

OrangeSockMonkey , Dustin Moore Report

Final score:
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#25

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Not me, but this is kind of a funny one. A friend of my father's hired one to find out whether he was still married or not. He had been separated for many years but wasn't sure whether his ex had ever actually divorced him. (Sounds strange to me too, but that's how I heard it.) He needed to know because he wanted to remarry.

So what did he find out? That she had in fact divorced him, and also passed away. So no worries on that front.

NuderWorldOrder , Stan Wiechers Report

Final score:
197points
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dontlook avatar
Don't Look
Don't Look
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually the brunt - if I’m not mistaken - of what PIs do. Boring civil work.

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#26

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My father in law has been calling a woman who’s identity was a lie; she’s been using false IDs and is actually a cult guru.

I hoped exposing this info to my father in law would help him « rethink » his allegiances (he’s cutting off ties with his entire family to be with the cult). It didn’t, sadly. He was surprised when we revealed the info, though.

My_reddit_account_v3 , KOMUnews Report

Final score:
191points
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#27

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Had one used against me (thanks current father-in-law). He found out that I was seriously a desperately boring person. Aside from my boring work and education history, he learned of two of my exes and the fact that they were pretty boring too (though one sadly, struggled with an eating disorder). I don’t think he knew what, “yeah, yak played world of Warcraft with his last ex... a lot...” meant, but yeah... he learned I was adopted and had grown up with a very nice pair of parents (non-bio... obviously).

You know, until this second, I assumed he had wasted his money, and ended up with literally no interesting info. I’m kinda curious if the guy found out about my bio parents... and wonder if that colored his view of me...

The_Best_Yak_Ever , Wolfgang Report

Final score:
182points
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#28

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My parents hired one because my piano teacher promised to make a recording of me playing piano, my parents gave him a down payment for recording equipment and then he peaced out. The PI found out that the piano teacher never went to the music school he claimed, had done this to at least 5 other families, he didn't work for the recording studio he claimed to and he didn't even live in New York as he said he did. I would have to ask my parents if there was anything else they found out and kept from me.

angelkely1213 , L. R. Padgett Report

Final score:
168points
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Pilar
Pilar
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But, the important question is, you parents were able to get their money back? If not, the lots even more paying the PI 😕

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#29

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group I've hired them for incredibly boring reasons. I work as a lawyer, and occasionally I'll need a document from a courthouse that's too far away for me to just go there and pick it up. Occasionally the courthouse staff will refuse to make copies and mail them to me. So I've hired a few PIs to pick up what I needed.

SuzannaMcglothin , peggydavis66 Report

Final score:
165points
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Roadkill The Brave
Roadkill The Brave
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This would be a perfect opportunity to turn boring into fun - Mission Impossible style. Are they really just going to the court to pick up papers? Or are they actually on a top secrete mission to uncover information about the towns founders and what hidden secrets they buried in cemetery plot 4355?

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#30

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group Not me, but my former boss. She hired a PI to investigate a guy from my country who she was dating online. All the birthday cards, little gifts, and little etceteras she sent him never reached him, because as it turned out, he never gave her his real name. She finally had enough and hired a PI. Guy was married and he lived further away from where he said he was located

yesnyenye , yue Report

Final score:
151points
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M
M
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People really have money to waist.. hiring PI to spy on online date? Wouldn't it be easier just to let it go all together?

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#31

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My dad used one on my mom when they got a divorce since she was doing some really shady things, and she used one on him because she was paranoid.

My dad found out that my mom had gotten a 25 year old boyfriend. He also found out I was gay since he was dipping into other sources and found out a school boards chairperson had a daughter I was involved with.

My mom found nothing on my dad- except his double life as a baseball little league coach one town over. In about a year they completely separated.

beckabunss , pxhere Report

Final score:
144points
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Nikki Hilton
Nikki Hilton
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tell us more about the double life as a little league coach.

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#32

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group That the guy I sold my car to and who then got me 3 speeding tickets before I could change the details over doesn't keep his address up to date and moves roughly every 6 months...

shadesofgray029 , Richard Schatzberger Report

Final score:
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Nikki Hilton
Nikki Hilton
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should have reported it stolen after the first speeding ticket.

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#33

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group That my wife was actually not cheating on me with my sons little league coach. Cost me over 5 thousand to figure that one out.

KNOXHARRlNGTON , pxhere Report

Final score:
127points
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Shawn Brooks
Shawn Brooks
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you're at the point of doing something like this your marriage is already over.

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#34

34 Wild, Unexpected Or Underwhelming Discoveries Made By Private Investigators, As Shared In This Online Group My wife was planning a surprise birthday party

Trey-flop , Steven Saus Report

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116points
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