13 Family Dark Secrets That Were Meant to Never Be Exposed

Family members are the closest people we have in life. We think we know them inside and out, but sometimes situations come up that make us question if we really understand those we live with. It’s a reminder that even with those we are closest to, there’s always more to learn and discover.

• I found out from my dad that one of my cousins isn’t actually related to anyone in our family. My aunt and her mother used to work at a hospital maternity ward. One day, a woman came in, gave birth to him, and then left the next day without him.
  My aunt decided to adopt him, but a few months later, the woman returned, asking about him. They both lied, saying he had been given up and claimed they didn’t know where he was. © Existed_ / Reddit

• When my uncle had a heart attack and both his wife and girlfriend turned up to see him. Turns out for 30 years he told the wife he was working away during the week but staying with girlfriend. And told the girlfriend he worked weekends which is when he stayed with his wife and 2 kids. 30 years! Forgot to add, he divorced his wife and married the girlfriend. © dbe14 / Reddit

• My mother lied to me about my stepdad being my father. Only when they broke up when I was 13 did she reveal the truth, intending to hurt him. He had cheated, so she wanted to take away the thing he loved most: his baby girl. It was incredibly cruel and selfish.
  At 33, I finally met my biological father. He told me my mother got pregnant on purpose to try and keep him, and that he had paid child support for me my whole life. When I confronted my mom, she wouldn’t answer me, deny it, or look me in the eye. © prettyone_85 / Reddit

• I found out after my dad passed a few months ago that he never looked at me as his daughter (I’m adopted, and an only child). He spent over 30 years being jealous of me for “taking his wife away.” © bakerella328 / Reddit

• My mom started receiving threats from random people. My dad got messages telling him my mom was cheating on him. They called the police, and there was a major investigation. The person who
  set it all up turned out to be my grandmother (dad’s mom). She hired people to ruin my parents’ marriage. My mom didn’t press any charges. My parents just decided to move to another country. © Clandestinelyy / Reddit

• My cousin, who is also my best friend told everyone at Thanksgiving that he was divorcing his wife. He didn’t seem to be to beat up about it. He later confided in me that he was in love with the babysitter, and she just happened to also be pregnant with his child. He had been with the babysitter while his wife was at work. Got her pregnant, and they were going to move in together after he finalized his divorce. I just sat there in disbelief. Had no idea what to say to him. © guomo107 / Reddit

• My mother has been cheating for the entire 30 years of my parents’ marriage. She also only stayed with my dad because he received disability checks. It turns out she’s stolen at least $14,600, which I know of, from my dad. © Lord_Cassidy / Reddit

• My in-laws died in a car accident a few years ago. While I was helping my wife clean out their house, I found a bunch of my late mother-in-law’s journals. They included details about the affairs she had while she was married to both of her husbands, as well as her suspicion that my wife’s sister was the product of one affair. My wife and I are the only ones who know. © molten_dragon / Reddit

• One day, while hanging out at our grandparent’s house, my sister asked, “Grandma, do you remember when I was born?” She said, “Yeah. You were born the same time that tornado ripped the roof off of our house.” No one in the family had ever heard of that, so we called Grandpa and asked him the same question, and he said, “Of course I remember when you were born. It was the same time I was fixing our roof from that tornado.” We live in Utah. We don’t get tornados. But, sure enough, we looked it up and there was a random tornado in Utah when my sister was born. © Unknown author / Reddit

• I once dated a girl who had the sweetest grandfather. Years later, I found out that the guy used to rob convenience stores in his youth. Life is full of surprises. © BreadBinBen_89 / Reddit

• I found out recently that 20 years ago, my brother became a financial advisor and managed my dad’s investment portfolio. He lost my dad’s entire 401(k), got fired from his job, and has been on the run ever since.
  This explained why he left home so abruptly when I was young. Despite this, my dad never told me nor pressed charges, and he still paid for my tuition at private schools and universities. I love you, Dad. © khadgerler / Reddit

• My step-grandfather had a completely hidden life in Australia before he met my grandmother. He had a family and kids in Australia, and faked his death by driving his car off a cliff then moving to America. His kids thought he was dead until my grandmother found out about them and reached out years later. His son actually became a famous comedian over there, and from what I know has a joke he does at his shows about his father faking his death to disconnect from them. © ivydragons / Reddit

• My dad had an affair with my current stepmom while he was married to my last stepmom. I had no idea. This information was revealed to me the night I found out my brother was having an affair. © singleguy79 / Reddit

Adults can have secrets, and that’s normal. But kids are innocent and don’t always understand what should be kept private. They might accidentally spill something very personal with people they don’t know well.