It’s a genius idea. Spy on the fiancé before the wedding. In India, this concept is considered the norm.

There are countless pre-matrimonial detective agencies set up in India to snoop on things like past relationships, social activities and even salaries.

With the average Asian wedding in the UK costing a whopping £30,000-£40,000, it’s surprising that the idea of pre-marital spies hasn’t taken off here.

Most of us are guilty of legitimate online stalking. But hiring someone to do the tedious work for you is a worthy expenditure.

Although within Asian households you’d be better off having the detective spy on the whole family, not just the husband-to-be.

One friend was in tears a week after her glamorous wedding, saying that the day she moved into her in-laws, she was told by her mother-in-law to clean the bathrooms, and to sleep on a mattress on the floor after she sneezed lest her new husband catch her cold.

Another friend revealed that after spending £50,000 on the valima, her new father-in-law kept all the monetary gifts for himself to reimburse the cost of the function.

Once upon a time families relied on an auntie who fixed introductions to conduct the relevant snooping. Although those aunties still exist in their hordes, even they have become more sophisticated in their abilities, using Facebook as their haven.

One of these matchmakers admitted to using fake Facebook accounts with attractive profile pictures to test the loyalty of those targeted.

She said: “You’d be amazed how many men in particular fail at the loyalty test. As far as they are concerned, if an attractive girl sends them a flirty inbox message on Facebook and they respond accordingly, it isn’t cheating. I have found so many men pretend they are not engaged, just to engage in flirty conversations and even sending semi-naked selfies with a woman who they think is a hot size 8 model in a bikini.

“Little do they know I am a 56-year-old woman in a shalwar kameez, who usually knows their mother.

“It is things like this that the bride-to-be should be made aware of before she chooses to go ahead with the wedding.

“Online stalking is the best tool to use before getting married.”

Remember that wonderfully archaic notion called privacy?