Undercover Cop's 20-Year Deception Shatters Lives of Two Australian Women
For nearly two decades, friends Ellie and Wendy* believed James was their trusted confidant and romantic partner. To Ellie, he was a thoughtful and adventurous companion who whisked her away on holidays and crafted handmade collages of their shared moments. To Wendy, he was a loyal friend who provided unwavering support during her mother's terminal illness, often appearing at her doorstep and taking her out for meals in her darkest hours.
The Devastating Truth Revealed
However, none of this was real. James was, in fact, an undercover police officer deployed to spy on them. Sharing their harrowing story on the LiSTNR podcast Secrets We Keep: Uncovered, Ellie and Wendy expressed their profound devastation upon learning that the man they had shared intimate parts of their lives with for so long was a complete fabrication.
"I'm like, what the hell?" says Wendy. "The person who'd been my friend for two decades didn't exist. The whole thing was fake. The whole relationship with Ellie was fake."
The friends, who now reside in Australia, were innocent victims of the notorious 'SpyCops' scandal, in which police officers secretly infiltrated protest and activist groups while they lived in the United Kingdom. They are currently awaiting the final report of an undercover policing inquiry, expected to be released later this year.
How the Deception Unfolded
The pair only discovered the truth when James confessed to Ellie in a shocking phone call. "It's a blur," says Ellie, who had put her dating life on hold for years because of her relationship with James. "I remember coming out of the room afterwards and just having this really numb feeling... it just felt like I was living in a dream."
It turned out James had been part of the controversial British 'SpyCops' police operation in the early 2000s. He was deployed to investigate a local animal rights group in Surrey, UK. James joined the group around the same time as Wendy, posing as a film and TV locations producer who mingled with celebrities like Keira Knightley and Joanna Lumley.
He quickly embedded himself into Wendy's life, even serving as a primary support pillar during her mother's terminal illness. However, James's ultimate target became Wendy's flatmate, Ellie, with whom he initiated a romantic relationship.
"I was attracted to him right away... sort of tall, dark stranger kind of thing," says Ellie. "We just clicked and we just fit. It was almost effortless to be with him."
Red Flags and Prolonged Ruse
The couple enjoyed weekends away and overseas holidays together. Ellie interpreted certain inconsistencies—such as unpredictable movements and a reluctance to take photos together—as mere quirks of his personality.
"I remember Ellie coming home and telling me about [an incident of strange behaviour] and we just laughed and went, 'God, he is such an oddball'," says Wendy.
When it became clear that the animal rights group posed no threat, James fabricated a murder plot as a pretext to remain undercover for an extended period. Even after his deployment ended and Wendy and Ellie relocated to Australia, the married father continued the deception.
He did not act alone. The UK's Undercover Policing Inquiry found that over 140 officers infiltrated more than 1,000 political groups across Britain, often using the identities of deceased children as cover.
Years of Emotional Manipulation
Initially, James broke up with Ellie after a year together, claiming he had to move to the US to be near his children. However, he rekindled their relationship soon after, maintaining it via email and in-person visits for another 16 years.
"The emails were flirty," says Ellie. "He'd often ask for pictures of me in lingerie. It was always more than friendship. It was like dating. So like you go on dates with someone every, I don't know, every week or so when you're dating them. We would do it every year instead."
The Collapse of the Lie
The elaborate lie finally collapsed in 2018. After instructing her to "have a glass of wine ready", James revealed in the phone call: "By the way, I was an undercover police officer".
Ellie was utterly shattered: their entire relationship had been a sham. All this time, James had been living a double life with a real partner and children in England.
The UK's Metropolitan Police has issued an unreserved apology for the scandal, but for Wendy and Ellie, the damage is permanent. Ellie told Secrets We Keep: Uncovered that "everything is different" now and she "can't shake that feeling" that any new person she meets might be spying on her.
*Not their real names, protected for privacy reasons.
