While some secrets may never see the light of day, others might take a few years, or even decades, before they finally become known. And while discovering a hidden truth about our family or a close person can be unpleasant or even frightening at first, it can also help us see our reality more clearly. This newfound clarity can assist us in constructing our identity and moving forward into the future with greater ease.
- When I was 3, my mom and her mother took a month-long vacation together. That was the only trip they ever took just by themselves. They told everyone they had been to Spain but didn’t bring back photos or tell stories. Dad’s parents looked after me in the meantime.
She never showed me a passport stamp. For all I know, she never even had a passport. Once, Mom let it slip and said she never traveled overseas in her life. “There’s that month in Spain,” I replied. She fell silent. Apparently, she had been hoping I’d forgotten.
Nothing made sense until years later when I realized her trip to Spain took place shortly before abortion was legalized where we were living. Mom, dad, and I had been living in a one-bedroom apartment at the time. Mom and Grandma probably decided she couldn’t afford a second child. Dad never guessed a thing. © doublestitch / Reddit
- I found out that my mother got pregnant when she was 17, so she and my dad were planning to ask her parents for permission to marry. Instead, they received an ultimatum: get an abortion or be sent away to a home for unwed mothers.
My mother opted for the abortion and married my father two weeks after her 18th birthday. She subsequently experienced several miscarriages and stillbirths, almost certainly due to the damage done to her uterus/cervix.
My brother was conceived with medical assistance, and I was a lucky surprise. Remarkably, my parents are still married 46 years later. © gnomewife / Reddit
- My dad took me out for a walk when I was in middle school to tell me that I have a half-brother in Japan with a similar name and birthday to mine. We share the same dad but have different moms. My brother has known about me his whole life, as a sister who lives in the States, but I only found out about his existence on that day. © No_Yogurt6517 / Reddit
- I discovered that my grandmother probably trapped my grandfather into marriage by lying about being pregnant. This deception cost him an appointment to the Naval Academy and caused significant disruption within that side of the family for a generation. While she was a pretty good grandma, it seems she was a poor wife and mother. © 75footubi / Reddit
- My mom’s biological dad was over 50% Native American, while her mom is entirely white. She took a DNA test not long ago (she’s 41) and found out she has 0% Native blood. Grandma has some explaining to do. © nightmare_town / Reddit
- I found out that my parents didn’t want me; my mom got pregnant by accident. She was so upset that she even retired from her job at the age of 38 to be able to take care of the unexpected new child (me). I have 5 sisters and 1 brother; I am her 7th and last child. © Melancholic84 / Reddit
- I found out just a month ago that my little sister had an abortion as a teenager. I’m 63 years old. © NationalCobbler5750 / Reddit
- I learned this very recently: my highly respected grandfather, who was a vice president of a company, had an extramarital affair. Grandma knew about it and allowed it. She handled the finances, so she was budgeting for her family and for the woman involved in the affair. © ReticenceDriftshadow / Reddit
- The reason my grandpa didn’t like my uncle is that my grandma had him with another man. The whole scandal was that she cheated on him, they got divorced, but they were still intimate. She was also involved with another man.
For a time, they didn’t know if he was my grandpa’s son or not. My grandpa decided he just didn’t belong to him, so they were never able to be in the same room. © EmotionalMycologist9 / Reddit
- I’m 56, and I just found out that my older sister got pregnant when I was about ten. My parents sent her to some sort of facility for her to have the child, and it was then put up for adoption. I had no idea.
One day, I confided in my older brother, expressing concern about something bad that must have happened to her at some point because of the way she acts. That’s when he told me the story. © hoosierhiver / Reddit
- My grandad had 2 wives, and my dad had 10 other half-siblings he had no idea about. I was told my dad was the only child all my life. It turns out my grandad married my grandma while having a wife and 9 kids. He had my dad with my grandma and one more with his other wife. © thetwinsll / Reddit
- After we broke up, my ex told me that she couldn’t find her diary and made me promise her that if I found it in my stuff, I’d throw it away immediately without reading it. It was her personal thoughts and weren’t meant to be read by anyone else. I told her I wouldn’t read it, and I meant it. I had no intention of violating her request.
Years later, I was going through a box and found a notebook that I didn’t recognize. I had long forgotten my promise to my ex and ended up opening it. Shocked, I realized it wasn’t a diary. She had been spying on me and journaling all her findings. A page would read like this:
4:55 pm — Says he has to “work late.”
6:00 pm — His office light is on, so are Michelle’s and Jennifer’s, but Jennifer’s car isn’t there.
7:30 pm — His car is still there, office light is on, Michelle’s car is still in the parking lot.
12:30 pm — His car is gone for lunch, so is Tina’s. Neither at parent’s condo.
She was good at it, too. Never once did I catch her, or even catch a glimpse of what I thought might be her car. Never did I come home unexpectedly and find her not home, nothing... but she was regularly acting as a PI, thinking I was cheating on her with every girl I worked with. © ballplayer0025 / Reddit
Some secrets can be so shocking that they have the power to change someone’s life forever. In this article, people shared profound truths they only came to realize years later, and their impact could’ve been shattering for them.