A man in Sicily is suing a restaurant after a promotional TikTok video unexpectedly exposed his alleged affair and triggered the collapse of his marriage.
The 42-year-old from Catania had reportedly told his wife he was attending a routine business dinner. Instead, he was out with another woman — and unknowingly walked straight into a marketing video campaign being shot by the restaurant.
Staff were filming various tables for an online promotional clip when the man and the woman he was dining with were clearly captured on camera.
The footage was later uploaded to TikTok without notifying guests.
According to reports, the video quickly reached his wife, who recognised him in the clip. After seeing her husband with another woman, she is said to have announced she would leave him and forced him out of their home.
The Italian consumer advocacy organisation Codacons has now filed a claim on the man’s behalf.
They argue that the restaurant acted unlawfully by filming customers without permission.
Codacons representative Francesco Tanasi said the incident amounted to a serious invasion of privacy.
“It is inadmissible that a restaurant films its customers without clear consent and posts the video, exposing the person to unpredictable consequences,” he stated.
Tanasi added that in situations like this, publishing a video “can have very serious effects on a person’s private life and family life.”
The group has also threatened to escalate the complaint to Italy’s national privacy watchdog if necessary.
This incident follows a number of high-profile moments in which social media unexpectedly blew open private relationships.
One recent case involved a married CEO who was filmed embracing a colleague at a Coldplay concert — sparking national headlines and eventually a divorce.
