An unnamed businessman has sued after “deleted” messages he sent to sex workers were found by his wife on another device.

The man who is reportedly a middle-aged man from England, claims Apple’s lack of transparency over deleted messages led to his wife filing for divorce.

According to The Times, the businessman said he had turned to prostitutes in the final years of his marriage, and would contact them through the iMessage app on his iPhone before deleting the texts.

The messages were however discovered by his wife on the family’s iMac computer, along with messages going back several years he believed he had wiped.

He said: “Divorce is an extraordinarily stressful process and you have children and family dynamics.

“In my opinion it’s all because Apple told me my messages were deleted when they weren’t.

“If the message had said, ‘These messages are deleted on this device’, that would have been a clue, or ‘These messages are deleted on this device only’ that would have been even better.”

He is now pursuing legal action against the company for the more than £5 million he lost in his divorce and legal costs, claiming the company does not make it clear to customers that deleted messages can appear on other Apple devices.

A lawyer from London law firm Rosenblatt representing the businessman, Simon Walton, also said that “Apple had not been clear with users as to what happens to messages they send and receive and, importantly, delete”.

“In many cases, the iPhone informs the user that messages have been deleted but, as we have seen, that isn’t true and is misleading because they are still found on other linked devices — something Apple doesn’t tell its users,” he said.

“I would be eager to hear from other Apple customers who have experienced similar issues,” he added.