Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Wife of NYPD Cop Humiliates Him on Fox Reality Show
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 27, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 27, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Twenty-six-year-old Lauren Cleari, the slatternly wife of cuckolded New York cop Frank Cleri, has become infamous overnight after humiliating her husband of two years on the Fox reality show “Moment of Truth.” Before going on air, contestants answer intimate questions while hooked up to a lie detector machine; later they answer some of the same questions before a raucous studio mob and their significant others, which in this case included her spouse, parents and a gal pal.
Cleari had accumulated $100,000 by answering 14 questions truthfully, when the host brought out an ex-boyfriend to pose the 15th question: “Do you believe I am the man you should be married to?” A dishonest answer would have cost her the hundred grand, so Cleari answered yes, which was truthful. But instead of walking away with the loot, she opted to keep mortifying her husband for more money.
Question 16 was a doozy: “Since you’ve been married, have you had sex with someone other than your husband?” That would be yes again! The compulsive fornicator was two steps away from $200,000 when she lost it all on question 18, stating she thinks she is a good person – a lie, according to the machine. The magnificent must-see clip from the episode, plus a "where are they now" tabloid follow-up after the jump.
In a sweet bit of cross-platforming, Murdoch’s Post visited the couple in their home, where she said, “We're kind of up in the air right now - I want to [get back together], but I don't think he does.” Her husband sounded devastated: “Everything that was mentioned during this show, we had talked about before… Unfortunately, now they're not just our problems. Everyone knows about it.” One only hopes that this very special episode of Moment of Truth is the only artifact left for future alien archaeologists to discover; at least that way they won’t lose any sleep over our humanity’s demise. (Or will they – it is a pretty addictive show!)
Tagged
cheat
contestant
ex-boyfriend
fox
husband
Lauren Cleari
Moment of Truth
money
new york
nypd
reality show
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .