10 Family Secrets That Could Tear a Novelist’s Heart Out

Every family has stories kept in the shadows—some amusing, others earth-shattering. This collection reveals the most shocking, emotional, and unexpected secrets that changed lives and challenged everything people thought they knew about their loved ones.

• In 2015, my mother gifted me our grandma’s gold locket. She made me promise never to open it. Today, my sister asked, “Did you ever look inside? I saw Grandma put something in it before she died.” I opened the clasp, and inside was a tiny photo: our mother, just a teen, holding a baby. The date on the back said 1988—years before she met Dad or had any of us.
  
  When I asked mom about it, she broke down in tears. Imagine my shock when I found out that she’d gotten pregnant as a teenager and put the baby up for adoption, swearing Grandma to secrecy.
  
  Before she died, Grandma asked her to give me the locket—saying the photo of my little brother would keep me safe. Mom hadn’t wanted me to have it, but in the end, she honored her mother’s final wish.
  
  And that’s how, thanks to Grandma, I learned I have a secret brother—now 37 years old.

• I found out about seven months ago that the “dad” listed on my birth certificate isn’t my biological father. My biological mother refuses to tell me who he is. I don’t understand why she and my non-biological father could have lied to me for so long. He’s called me his daughter my whole life.
  I was adopted at birth but have known my biological family my whole life. I’m 26 now, and I just want to know my medical history. I feel so angry and hurt. © Maleficent_Light1340 / Reddit

• My aunt had a child when she was very young and still lived in another country. After she moved to the U.S. and left her child in the other country, she got married. Her current husband does not know that she has a child. © senzafine1 / Reddit

• In 2012, my husband took my 14-year-old son on a 3-day fishing trip. They sent me postcards from there. Recently, I found those cards and mentioned to my son how proud his dad had been of that trip. My son looked at me and said, "Mom, we didn’t go fishing. Take a closer look at the postcards. Dad was actually looking for a place to move out. The fishing trip was just an excuse."
  I looked closely and was horrified to notice a small brand stamp indicating they were from a state far away—nowhere near where I thought they had gone. Suddenly, everything clicked. It explained why, not long after that trip, my husband decided to separate and move out.
  At the time, the news of our separation was shocking, but discovering this now cuts even deeper. For years, I had cherished the memory of that “fishing trip,” believing it was one of their final father-and-son bonding moments before our marriage ended. But now I know the truth—my husband was already searching for apartments, and my son knew about it and even helped him. That revelation has made the memory feel like a betrayal, and the pain feels fresh all over again.

• My grandmother has always been mean to her oldest daughter (my mom’s sister). She would constantly belittle and criticize her. Even when I was a kid, I thought she was being so mean to her for no reason at all. I just assumed she played favorites with her children to an extreme degree.
  When I was about 20, I learned that my grandmother had conceived my aunt out of wedlock, before meeting and marrying my grandfather. She was mean to her because she didn’t like being reminded of that part of her past. I had already lost respect for her when I thought she was being mean to my aunt for no reason. When I found out the real reason, I lost even more respect for her.
  © uh_oh_hotdog / Reddit

• I grew up thinking my father abandoned me and my mom. But years later, far into adulthood, I learned from my grandma that my mom left my dad and didn't allow him to see me so she could extort money from him. To this day, I still don't have a relationship with him. © 12Fatcat / Reddit

• My dad had a kid with his first wife's best friend, and it took 20 years for it to surface. My mom was the babysitter for my dad's first two kids while he was married to his first wife; she was 15, and he was 23.
  I have a half-sister who is 2 weeks younger than me, and I found out about her by discovering child support papers when I was 16. Her sister's dad is our uncle, so she is also our cousin. Remember, my parents are still together. © Slade645 / Reddit

• After my dad died, his best friend stepped up and helped out my mom. He's been a great family friend since I was young. It's been about 12 years since my dad passed, and I just found out a month ago that for about 8 years, my mom and my dad's best friend have been dating.
  I always suspected it but assumed, since no one told me anything, nothing was happening. Turns out, no. My mom still has no idea I have a clue that they're together. © Mooooofasa / Reddit

• When I was 8, someone left a pair of used baby shoes on our porch. My parents had no idea who put it there, but I recall Mom crying when she saw it. Dad always said that it was a prank.
  Last year, Dad passed away. Mom came to me and revealed that she had given birth to a baby boy when she was 16 and had abandoned the child. She never told Dad about it out of fear that he would leave her. She said those were the shoes her baby was wearing the night she gave him away. I tried to find my half-brother but couldn’t. I am still searching for him.

• When I was a kid, my dad cheated on my mother and had a kid with the new woman who would become my stepmom.
  I went over occasionally and never paid it much mind, but my "sister" had blond hair her entire life. My dad said it was because he had blond hair as a kid. Fast-forward 10 years, and surprise—she more than likely wasn't carrying his child. Big surprise that the woman you cheated on your wife with wasn’t faithful either, huh? © Boomerwell / Reddit

Families may carry secrets, but they also hold our greatest sources of comfort. These 13 stories beautifully reveal how family is life’s truest treasure.