I've always found the phrase 'work wife' a bit… well… thirsty. It feels outdated, a little 1950s, and honestly… kinda insulting to everyone involved. Because let's call it what it really is: the idea that a man needs one woman to look after him at home, and another to look after him at work. As if he's incapable of ironing a shirt or making a sandwich without some form of feminine supervision. And for the actual wives out there, I can't imagine there's anything charming about hearing your husband wax lyrical about how he and 'Sarah from accounts' just have such a great bond with their after-work texts and inside jokes. God, we just hate Sarah. Because let's be honest: sometimes, a work wife isn't just a harmless cubicle buddy. Sometimes she's the reason your partner is going to the office suspiciously well-dressed and suddenly working late. We've all felt those horrible spidey senses go wild when he mentions a woman at his work one too many times. They are also the co-workers every other colleague is gossiping about. They think they're flying under the radar, but trust me, as someone who spent over a decade in an office, they're not. I once had an Office Manager confess during lockdown that she hated working from home because she couldn't spy on workplace affairs via the security cameras. Yes, she kept the security feed on her desk like it was her own personal reality show. Honestly, I always wanted to grab popcorn and pull up a chair. The sneaky bum grabs in the lift, the 'just heading to the bathroom' excuses that somehow happened in pairs, the mid-afternoon snogs in empty meeting rooms. Scandalous. And very, very work wife. In this week's Sealed Section, we're diving headfirst into the juicy world of work wives from hell. And it's not all harmless flirtation over Friday knock-offs. From affairs that destroyed marriages to power plays in pencil skirts, these stories are the kind of goss you usually only hear whispered in the office kitchen. I was the work wife that crossed the line... and now I don't trust him One woman was frightfully honest when she told me about how she started as her boss's right-hand woman, saying they worked closely and travelled together, and 'just clicked'. 'One night after a work event, we ended up kissing. It escalated quickly into an affair, and he eventually left his wife for me,' she confided. 'At first, it felt like a whirlwind romance, we were passionate, slightly obsessed with each other, and it was reckless. But now that I'm the official partner, I can't help but wonder when the tables will turn. 'If he could do it to her, why wouldn't he do it to me? I got the guy, but the trust is long gone and I only have myself to blame.' I've always thought that about affairs. Sure, you've got the guy but I doubt it will be happy sailing. I've been a work wife twice - and had affairs with both of them Another woman slid into my DMs with an honest, and dare I say, slightly relatable story. 'There's something intoxicating about the intimacy of working closely with someone, day in and day out. I loved our in-jokes, walks to get coffee, and late nights when it was just the two of us... it builds a kind of closeness that can tip into something more without you even realising it,' she told me 'As an Executive Assistant, I've had affairs with two of my work husbands (bosses). Both ended in heartbreak. One ghosted me after he got a promotion, and the other told me he was leaving his wife but never did. I still see them at industry events, and it stings.' When I asked her if she would do it again, she surprised me with her answer: 'If the chemistry was right... probably. It's the only way I meet men, at work.' I made it my mission to make his wife jealous They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and one of my Instagram followers served hers frozen. 'When I first started working as an intern at my first job, I made an effort to be friendly to his wife. But every time she came into the office, she acted like I was below her,' she told me. 'She was really dismissive and clearly sizing me up. It wasn't my fault her husband clearly had a wandering eye, I just wanted something half-decent on my resume before I left uni and hit the job market. 'So I thought, fine. Let me give her something to worry about. I started dressing a little sexier, laughing a little louder at him when she was around, and making sure I was always the one booking his lunches and trips in their shared diary so she could see my name all over it.' When I asked if she ever crossed the line? She told me: 'Maybe. But if she was going to look down on me, I was going to enjoy making her sweat.' Clearly no regrets… I found condoms in his overnight bag and it all unravelled from there Oooft, this one hurt to read. One former wife told me: 'I always suspected there was something going on between my husband and his EA. They were too close. She knew all his favourite meals, bought his mum a birthday present, and texted him constantly out of hours. 'Then one day, while packing for a work trip, I found a strip of condoms in his toiletries bag. I felt sick. I went through his phone for the first time ever, and there it all was. Flirty texts, hotel bookings, late-night selfies. I called him out, and it all unravelled from there. 'It didn't take much for him to confess, but what upset me most was that he admitted he was falling in love with her.' When I asked what happened next she told me they are now married with a toddler. 'We already had two adult children, and what I didn't expect was to feel smug. I'm enjoying retirement and travelling the world on our mutual retirement fund, while he's chasing after a toddler and trying to keep up with a young, flirty wife. Honestly, I wouldn't swap places with him for anything,' she said. We love a happy ending! Everyone told me I was paranoid. Then they had a baby There really was a theme to these stories: babies. 'My ex-husband had what he liked to call a "work wife". At first, I didn't think much of it. She seemed lovely, and I was even invited along to dinners or after-work drinks from time to time,' another follower told me. 'But then the invites stopped and I got that gut feeling that's never wrong. It all came to a head when the two of them went to a Zac Bryan concert and didn't even tell me they were going (I spotted them on a mutual friend's Instagram story).' She said that was when she started asking questions, but he swore they were just best friends and that she was paranoid for doubting him. 'For 18 months, I was gaslit into thinking I was imagining things until eventually he told me they had feelings for each other, and he was leaving me,' she revealed. 'They're now married and have a baby together. But it's not a sad ending, I'm now happily remarried to a man who actually shows up for me, treats me with respect, and doesn't hide behind "friendship" to justify emotional cheating. And he's the best sex I've ever had. She can keep him and his one-minute pump and dump.' Everyone assumed they were having an affair - turns out, they weren't wrong Gaslighting, as far as the eye can see. 'I could see it happening in real time. My husband's much younger office manager was clearly besotted with him. I warned him to be careful, to set boundaries. He told me I was being ridiculous and insisted he was just "mentoring her",' one woman told me. 'Then after they divorced, two of his coworkers told me everyone in the office had assumed they were having an affair. 'Apparently, she was referred to as "untouchable" or "the protected species" because my ex was her boss. 'The writing was on the wall, and everyone saw it.' The work wife who tried to replace the real one 'My husband's colleague called herself his "work wife" but turned into a bunny boiler, seriously - things got weird,' another follower told me. She 'accidently' smashed a work mug his wife bought him for Christmas, scheduled a work function on their anniversary and brought a birthday cake to the office that said 'Happy Birthday work hubby'. Then she started texting him out of work hours, sending him playlists, funny memes, even giving him restaurant recommendations for his anniversary dinner. 'He thought it was sweet. I thought it was strategic, and I was right,' the real wife said. 'He came home from work drinks one night rattled and told me she confessed she had feelings for him after she got blackout drunk on wine. He's now contemplating quitting his job because she's made it so awkward.' It's giving: HR! The work wife who proposed... at work Some work wives use humour to push the envelope a little too far. 'I always thought my husband's work wife was a bit too much. She'd bring him coffee every morning, laugh too hard at his jokes (and he's not that funny), and they'd go on lunch walks nearly every day. I brushed it off until one day she literally proposed to him during a staff trivia night,' she told me. 'It was framed as a joke, but everyone knew it wasn't. He laughed awkwardly. I didn't.' 'The work wife who tried to sabotage my wedding' 'My fiancé had a very flirty relationship with his colleague, Lily. I always felt uncomfortable about it, but he swore they were just mates,' another follower said. 'Then at our engagement party, she clinked her glass and said, "I just can't picture him with anyone else but me". Half the room laughed, the other half side-eyed me.' Suffice to say, the colleague soon found herself uninvited from the wedding. 'The work wife who packed his lunch' They say the way to a man's heart is via his stomach… 'My boyfriend's coworker started packing him lunch. Not leftovers either. Fresh sandwiches, pasta, handwritten notes, and his favourite brownies,' one woman told me. 'He thought it was cute. I thought it was weird. Their coworkers teased them like a married couple and when I brought it up, he accused me of being jealous and told me it's because she's Italian and they're "feeders". 'I ended up breaking up with him when he refused to tell her to stop.' The work wife who stopped him from taking a promotion 'My husband had a chance to take a big promotion that would have moved him to another team and a much bigger pay packet, but his 'work wife' convinced him to turn it down,' another woman told me. She told him the new team 'wouldn't appreciate him the way we do here.' He listened, which left his wife fuming. 'We're trying to pay off a mortgage and have kids and this would have really helped with IVF payments. He couldn't see it, but she was manipulating him,' she said. 'She eventually got a promotion and took it, moving to another state, leaving him (us) high and dry. As much as I enjoyed saying "I told you so" it's still left us high and dry.' So for the love of god, can we please put an end to the phrase 'work wife'. It's such an 'ick' term, and as you can see from the above stories, never ends well. The next time your partner bangs on about how she just gets him, maybe don't ignore that little gut twinge. Clock it. Because, not to freak you all out, but behind every 'work wife' might just be a woman with eyes on your man. Trust your instincts and maybe keep a spare toothbrush at your best friend's, just in case.