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Adultery ending explained: Does Tom and Beth's affair get found out?
There was drama aplenty in the final episode of Adultery.
ITV
- Morgan Cormack
Published: Monday, 26 October 2026 at 10:03 am
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*Warning: This article contains full spoilers for the final episode of Adultery.*
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Seeing as their affair kicked off at the very beginning of Adultery, Tom (Dominic Cooper) and Beth (Romola Garai) did well to conceal their secret trysts and weekend jaunts for the majority of the series. But alas, as is usually the case with these kinds of things, they can't stay hidden forever.
It was at the end of the penultimate episode of Adultery that their world started to unravel as Tom's daughter Jess (Leila Khan) started piecing things together for herself and in a very Gen Alpha fashion, confronted Beth via text whilst sat besides her.
But does Jess keep things to herself or do Tom and Beth choose to end things to keep their secret affair under wraps? It's safe to say that the final episode of Adultery was a pretty surprising one – read on for a full breakdown.
Adultery ending explained: Does Tom and Beth's affair get found out?
Romola Garai as Beth and Dominic Cooper as Tom in Adultery. Poison Pen Studios/ITV
In a nutshell, yes – Tom and Beth's affair comes to light in a very dramatic fashion.
By the end of the penultimate episode, Tom's eldest daughter Jess has found revealing pictures on her father's tablet and figures out that the faceless image is of Beth. With Tom and Jess driving Beth, Ollie (Johnny Sanpher) and Neil (Matthew McNulty) home after Beth's car accident, Jess sends Beth a confrontational text message whilst in the backseat of the car together.
Upon leaving the car, the pair chat outside and Jess doesn't hold back from telling her what she thinks of Beth, threatening to tell her family the truth. Jess is upset because she loves Ollie and, in her teenage hopes, wants to be with him for the rest of her life. But when she starts to think about how her dad's affair will now impact that prospect, Jess tells Beth that she can just keep her father's affair a secret as long as they choose to end it – but that's something that Beth can't allow her to do, especially as it's more than just a fling.
In a surprise move, when Jess gets back home to Tom, she tells him that she's pregnant. They drive back to the lakes to chat it through with Hannah (Shelley Conn) and it becomes evident that Jess is using the pregnancy as a tool to try and unite her family.
Hannah also relays to Tom that their middle daughter Daisy has been coerced into sending nude images to a boy in her class, something that only sends Tom into a further tailspin. The next morning, Ollie chats through Jess's pregnancy with his parents and when Tom and Beth meet later on, Beth tells Tom that she thinks Jess is lying about the pregnancy because of their affair.
Beth tells Tom that she's going to tell Neil about their affair and urges Tom to tell Hannah if he's actually serious about them being together. It was always part of the plan but Jess finding out about them only forces things ahead, with the pair vowing that they'll tell their partners that evening.
Tom appears about to tell Hannah once he gets home but chickens out of things, telling her instead that he feels as though he hasn't been a present father. That evening though, Tom is having dinner with his family and Ollie when he receives a text from Beth confirming that she's told Neil. Minutes later, Neil comes barrelling through Tom and Hannah's front door, ready to attack Tom. Neil tells Hannah that Tom and Beth's affair has been going on for months and that they're in love.
Outside, Ollie confronts Jess about the fact that she knew about the affair. Jess admits that there is no pregnancy and she lied about it in a bid to force their parents to stop their affair. Rather understandably, Ollie ends things with Jess.
In the moments after the explosive confrontation, we see how the announcement of the affair sends ripples through both families. Tom is ordered by Hannah to leave and Beth feels empowered to finally confront Neil about the lack of attention and care she's been paid in their relationship, especially in the aftermath of her best friend's death. Beth goes to her sister's to stay but she turns her away, telling her to go back to her family and beg instead.
With nowhere else to go and feeling as though their families hate them, Beth and Tom meet and agree that despite this hard part, it is worth it to be with one another.
What do Tom and Beth decide to do?
Romola Garai as Beth in Adultery. Poison Pen Studios/ITV
While Tom poses the idea of renting a place together on a short-term lease, Beth says that she thinks it's a better idea if they get their own places so that their kids have somewhere to stay and so as not to pile on any unnecessary pressure onto their relationship.
That day, Hannah confronts Tom in his doctor's office, telling him that she knows he stopped loving her when she got ill. Hannah tells Tom that he should get ready to fight for everything, including their house and the kids, admitting that she knows she's going to be fine without him. On her whistle-stop tour, Hannah then pays Beth a visit at the school and simply slaps her when she sees her, telling Beth that she gives her newfound relationship a year before walking away.
Later on, Beth goes back home to see Neil and he surprises her with a spread of pictures that he's arranged that depict their life together. Although Beth recognises that they're proof of happy memories, things have changed. Neil says that even though Beth has lied and cheated, he still loves her and says he can get past this in order to remain together. Neil begs Beth to stay and leave Tom, saying that he'll give her everything she's asked for.
We see how both Tom and Beth are left to reckon with the consequences of their actions as it looks as though Tom is also struggling with his decision. We see how he travels back to his family home in the middle of the night and when he returns to Beth, he admits he feels lost and that things are moving so quickly. He says he may love Beth but he didn't anticipate that he'd also feel this lonely but Beth says that they're now in the reality of everything, no longer in the fantasy that they were playing in previously. But what do they decide to do?
A montage shows what has since unfolded, with Tom spending evenings with his two younger daughters and dropping them home, Beth having to have difficult conversations with her own children and Jess and Ollie finally seeing each other again at a party. They reminisce about Blackpool and say they can't blame themselves for their parent's mistakes, saying they should go to Blackpool again some time, hinting at some hope for the pair of young lovers.
With it remaining a mystery as to whether Tom and Beth decide to continue to give their relationship a chance, we see Beth getting ready for a date – and as she walks into the restaurant, she's greeted by Tom.
It's their second official date and it's clear they're both a bit nervous but they're restarting their relationship timeline in their own way. We may not get a flash-forward or confirmation if their relationship ends up being successful, but the series ends on them giving it a proper go and deciding to pursue things.
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Adultery premieres on ITV1 on Sunday 25th October at 9pm, continuing on Monday at 9pm. All episodes will be available to stream on ITVX.
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Authors
Morgan CormackDrama Writer
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
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