Part 2
Here's the detail that should make your skin crawl: the women were local. Not models in another time zone. Not bots. Local. That means every trip to the grocery store, every coffee run, every walk around the block could be a face from the phone. Mikaela said it herself: 'That's what worries me the most.' It's one thing to know your partner is looking. It's another to know he's looking at people you might bump into at the gas station.
And then there's Nate's excuse for sending his own photos. Brace yourself. He told Mikaela: 'I only send photos of my private parts to other women if it just comes up in conversation.' Maury, to his credit, asked the only question that matters: 'I wonder how it comes up in conversation.' Exactly. How? Do you open with the weather? Do you ask about their day and then — boom — unsolicited anatomy? That's not a conversation. That's a cold call with extra steps.
The persistence was so relentless that one woman deleted her entire social media presence just to get away from him. Think about that. Someone nuked their online life because Nate wouldn't stop. That's not 'passing time.' That's a one-man harassment campaign with a camera roll.
Mikaela also revealed that Nate told one of these women he was 'so unhappy at home' and 'just can't take it.' Which is wild, because Mikaela cooks, cleans, wears lingerie, puts on makeup — she does everything. In her words: 'I love this man. He's my soulmate. Or so I thought.' The evidence locker doesn't just hold photos. It holds the story Nate was selling to strangers — a story where Mikaela is the villain and he's the trapped hero. That's the oldest trick in the cheater's playbook, and it's been the engine of everything from Mad Men (AMC, 2007–2015) to The Affair (Showtime, 2014–2019).
So when Maury asked Nate if he ever told these women anything about his relationship, the answer was already in the phone. The lie wasn't just about what he did. It was about who he pretended to be while doing it. And that's the part that breaks Mikaela — not the photos, but the performance. The 'our little secret' wasn't a secret between lovers. It was a secret between co-conspirators. And she wasn't invited.
By the end of this stop on the tour, the evidence locker is full. Photos. Messages. A phrase that sounds like it was ripped from a thriller. Local women. A deleted account. And a man who says he does it 'to pass time.' The only thing missing is the lie detector. And that's exactly where we're headed next.
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Stop 3: The Lie Detector Test — The Questions, The Answers, The Fallout
Here’s where the tour gets loud. Mikaela didn’t come to the Maury show for a vibe check. She came with a condition: Nate takes the lie detector test. If he fails, he’s out of the house. Not a timeout. Not a couch. Out. That’s the stake. Keep that in your pocket, because the next six questions are going to make you feel like you’re watching a season finale of a reality show that somehow got greenlit by a daytime talk empire.
The polygraph segment plays like a courtroom thriller directed by someone who loves close-ups. The expert straps him in. Mikaela watches like she’s holding her breath underwater. Maury reads each question with the patience of a man who has hosted this exact apocalypse ten thousand times. And Nate? Nate looks like a guy who genuinely believes he’s about to walk out clean.
Question one: “Have you slept with any other women you send naked photos to?” Nate says no. The lie detector says he’s telling the truth. Question two: “Have you slept with any other women that you met through Craigslist ads?” No. Truth. Question three: “Did you sleep with any other women who sent you naked photos?” No. Truth. Three for three. If you’re scoring at home, that’s a clean sweep on the physical act. Mikaela’s face doesn’t relax. She’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, because she knows the shape of this man’s behavior better than any machine.
Then comes the turn. Question four: “Do you try to sleep with other women and tell them to keep it a secret?” Nate says no. The lie detector determined that was a lie. Question five: “Do you tell other women that you are unhappy in your relationship so they will sleep with you?” No. Lie. Two in a row. The studio audience makes that sound — the low, collective “ohhh” that only Maury can produce. Mikaela’s reaction is instant and volcanic: “Are you kidding me? Are you for real?”
The polygraph expert summarizes it in one sentence that lands like a gavel: “He shows deception on attempting to cheat on her.” Attempting. That word is the whole tour. Not cheating. Attempting. The machine isn’t saying he sealed the deal. It’s saying his intent was pointed in a direction he denied. And that distinction is going to matter in a second.
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Question six: “During your relationship with Mikaela, have you ever had any sexual contact of any kind with any other woman?” Nate says no. The lie detector determined he’s telling the truth. So the final scoreboard reads: no physical contact, no sex, no Craigslist hookups — but lies on the secret-keeping and the “I’m unhappy at home” manipulation. Maury looks at Nate and suggests he see a counselor. Nate, without missing a beat, says, “I’m down for that.”
