We're sick of hearing about the Gosselins too, but a recent story got us thinking about people's attitudes toward email privacy -- especially when it comes to their significant other.


A former nanny alleges Jon Gosselin bragged about hacking into estranged wife Kate's emails, phone records and bank accounts.

Whether or not you're in the midst of a nasty, high-profile divorce, this kind of thing happens all the time. Don't pretend you've never even considered taking a quick peek when an unattended laptop or cell phone presents itself. Even for the most ethical among us, it's tempting.

So we want to know:

Generally, my husband and I have separate private email accounts. A number of them used for different purposes.  So, yes, I look at his email that is used for business purposes.  Although I am inquisitive, I don't look at his private email, on my own.  However, if I was going thru a situation that I suspected involved an affair, I would probably hack into his email, his cell phone and whatever else was at my disposal.

However, I think this whole Gosselin thing is way out of control.  Never would I want so much of my personal life aired out in the public.  I think they were aware of this when they decided to make money from their life thru a reality show.  I don't pay much attention to any of these reality shows.

I definitely can't say I wouldn't. I think it depends on the situation. I think that if I had reasons to suspect something I would "look". If not, I would always be wondering.

Now on Jon & Kate plus drama . . . . . give it a rest. You have 8 kids who will NO doubt see these things when they get older and think what the heck was going on. Just get your divorce, hash things out and move on. I do have to say that I believe Jon is acting more like a hurt teenage boy than a concerned father. Kate is no peach either but is handling herself and the situation much better than he is !

I would never ever EVER read my husband's email. I think that's both an incredible violation of privacy and an incredibly demeaning act. When I found out that my brother's wife routinely read his private emails I was shocked. I've got more respect for him AND me than to do something like that.

If I honestly suspected that he was cheating on me I'd find some other way to deal with it. I don't date people I don't trust.

Oh, and Jon Gosselin is an idiot. But we all knew that.

My ex actually did it to me, convinced because I wanted a divorce, that I must be cheating and he was looking for evidence. Never did it occur to him, that he could be the reason. Anyways I am in a relationship now, and it has never really crossed my mind to look at his email or his phone, for that matter. I trust him and have absolutely no reason to snoop - if I did, what kind of relationship would we have?

Next, who is Jon Gosselin? Reality show? Who cares?

Me and my long time BF has seperate emails.  Hes has private and work email accounts.   I dont want to know what he is saying in those emails whether it be good bad or otherwise, i dont care. On the other hand I know he looks at mine. He spies on my myspace page and now that he knows i am on this webite he will try and check this out to.    Its annoying when you dont have anything to hide. I feel that even if your in a relationship eveyone should still have some privacy.

I have read my boyfriend's text messages before out of paranoia that other girls were hitting on him, but I've gotten over that.  (Obviously, a self-confidence thing.)  Now, I do it on occasion if he sits his phone near me simply out of boredom, but not because I'm by nature a snoop.  I only look at emails he asks me to edit, too.  Is that still wrong if I look at this text messages "just because"?  It's not like we have anything to hide from each other, anyway...

Well, it looks like, in many cases, snooping has resulted in finding something. Hmmmm...........

Of course I'm going to read if I'm invited to read it.  And yes, of course I'm going to read it if it is something that is going to protect my family.

djcldnine43 says ...

Of course I'm going to read if I'm invited to read it.  And yes, of course I'm going to read it if it is something that is going to protect my family.

My sentiments exactly.

 I did go through my (now) fiance's IM and email history early in dating.  I found out how much he loves me and how well he speaks of me to his friends. LOL!  I 'fessed up and apologized for doing it.  He owns his own business and is on call 24/7 and is sometimes gone all hours of the night.  I was not used to that when we first started dating and was suspicious.  Now, if/when I'm insecure I've discussed it with him.  He's also questioned me about some of my discussion threads on Facebook that included other men.

I'm not saying I'd never snoop again.  If I had reason to, I'd discuss it first.  If I feel that the answers aren't on the "up-n-up", sure... I might go snoop through some emails.   But since he leaves himself logged in all the time, I don't think he's hiding anything. And I'd probably 'fess up and apologize no matter what I found or didn't find.

But each time we talk about our insecurities, the result is I'm more secure in our relationship.

(BTW, I don't have TV and turn the radio every time I heard some celebrity gossip, so I'm not familiar with the circumstances about the Gosslins, but vaguely know who they are... unfortunately.)