An Italian man is taking legal action against a restaurant after a TikTok video unexpectedly revealed his alleged extramarital affair and helped end his marriage.
The 42-year-old from Catania has filed a lawsuit claiming his privacy was violated when the eatery posted footage of him dining with another woman as part of a social media promotion.
According to local reports, the man told his wife he would be out for a routine business dinner. Instead, he spent the evening at the restaurant on a date with a secret lover.
That encounter was captured on camera by staff creating marketing content for the venue. The clip was later uploaded to TikTok without the customer’s knowledge or consent.
The man’s wife saw the viral video soon after it went live. She quickly announced she planned to leave him, ending their marriage and reportedly kicked him out of the house.
Restaurant sued after TikTok video exposes affair
Now, Italian consumer rights group Codacons says it is seeking damages on his behalf.
Francesco Tanasi, a representative for the organization, argued the restaurant acted unlawfully by filming patrons and sharing the material online.
“In certain cases, the publication of a video can have very serious effects on a person’s private life and family life,” Tanasi said.
He went on to warn that restaurants must obtain explicit permission before using customers in any kind of promotional material.
“It is inadmissible that a restaurant films its customers without clear consent and posts the video, exposing the person to unpredictable consequences,” Tanasi added.
Codacons has also threatened to escalate the case to Italy’s national privacy watchdog. The group claims the man never agreed to appear on camera and had no idea he was being recorded.
If the complaint is upheld, the restaurant could face additional penalties under Italian data protection laws.
This isn’t the first affair uncovered by TikTok, as the platform has developed a reputation as an accidental detective agency for relationships.
Most notably, last year, then-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron made headlines after getting caught holding onto a woman who wasn’t his wife at a Coldplay concert. Weeks later, Byron and his wife filed for divorce.
In 2024, two women went viral after discovering they had been dating the same man. They ended their romances when TikTok posts exposed the overlap.
Years earlier, a bartender racked up millions of views by explaining how she inadvertently told a customer’s wife about his secret night out.
