12 Parents Who Turned Family Life Into a Bestseller Drama

Family is meant to be a sanctuary, a place of warmth and comfort where we feel safe and supported. But what happens when the very people we rely on for stability—our parents—become the source of chaos and tension? In this collection, we dive into real-life stories of parents whose actions turned their children’s lives into something straight out of a dramatic soap opera.

• My mother left us when I was 12. 25 years later, she suddenly reappeared, begging to meet my 16 y.o. daughter. My child agreed, even though I said, ’’Don’t! She will use you!’’
  2 years later, my mother died, and my daughter got a call from an unknown number. Her face turned pale when she realized it was my mother’s lawyer. He said she needed to come urgently to sign some papers and collect some of her belongings.
  My heart dropped when I discovered an old suitcase full of drawings—my childhood doodles, all neatly kept—as well as the small art projects I had done in school. All this time, I thought my mother didn’t care about me, and I was wrong. I am devastated that she wanted to reconcile, and I didn’t give her a chance. But at least my daughter was better than me; she grew close to her in her final years.

• My mom’s best friend was actually her girlfriend. Her son and I grew up together and played sports together.
  My mom and dad were married until my father passed away. I was told this about them getting together: my dad needed help running a business, and my mom wanted a kid. It was like a business arrangement. They even slept in separate places. I didn’t realize this until I was in my 20s. © Ti***2Chains / Reddit

• As a teenager, I inherited $15k from my grandma. My parents let me buy a boombox and took the rest of the money. All three of my other siblings received their inheritance. They still won’t even acknowledge that they took mine. © Unknown author / Reddit

• When my sister and I were kids, my mom used to make us PB&Js and would draw hearts, flowers, and stuff like that in the peanut butter. One day, my dad was making us sandwiches, and I asked him to draw in the peanut butter. He put a happy face in my sister’s and a sad face in mine because “he didn’t like me.”
  My sister still brings it up. I don’t think his sentiment has changed. © s**ponentialgrowth / Reddit

• My dad disappeared in 2001. We thought he had died. We tracked him down via a DNA test in 2022 and discovered he had three, maybe four, families at the same time.
  He had given my mum a false name and was married to someone else. While he was with my mum, he got divorced, remarried, and had two children in another country. We did not suspect a thing.
  He wasn’t around when I was born—he said he was working. He kept forgetting my name as well and never contributed anything. © Immediate-Sugar-2316 / Reddit

• I thought I was my mother’s firstborn. But in my teens, I uncovered the family secret that she had gotten pregnant as a teenager (before she met my father) and had given the baby up for adoption. She had even recycled that baby’s middle name to use as my first name.
  My grandmother confirmed it was all true, but my mother lied to me about it, saying it was false and refusing to talk about it further. She was a pathological liar overall, so one could generally count on the opposite of what she said to be true. © cjboffoli / Reddit

• I currently have to get out of my house because I won’t sign a release allowing my mother to meet with my new therapist about me without me present. I’m the one paying for the therapist. This is probably the 30th time she’s threatened to kick me out over similar stuff. However, it’s the first time I haven’t given in, in an attempt to save our relationship. © baobabble / Reddit

• When I was 4 (and my sister was 8), my mother took off with a truck driver and never came back. She signed over all her parental rights to my father. Starting when I was about 12, she would randomly send me birthday cards two months after my birthday (one even included a pin with a fake birthstone for that incorrect birth month).
  She’s never made any serious attempt to contact me as an adult or to connect with her grandkids. However, she does stay in contact with my older sister and sent her kids an Xbox and Kinect for Christmas. She did send me a friend request on Facebook, though, so there’s that. © mstwizted / Reddit

• My dad started cheating on my mom with his secretary shortly after I was born because he was “jealous of the attention” my mom was giving to me as a baby. Later, my grandma said my dad was justified in cheating because my mom went dancing with friends and didn’t have dinner ready for him every night. © manicpixiememegirl_ / Reddit

• My mother used my social security number to open accounts in my name before I turned 18 and let them go into collections. My credit was ruined before I even had a chance to do anything about it. I cleaned that up, though. © blankwall / Reddit

• My father got his green card when I was 18 (I’m 39 now), but he never took any steps to help me with mine. Five years later, I went to an immigration attorney and started my green card petition process myself. Long story short, the process that was supposed to take one year will now take 25–30 years. © rodrigo_vera11 / Reddit

• My dad cheated on my mom for five years while I was homeschooling. When I found out at age ten, I wrote him a letter about how much he hurt me, and all he could say was, “I’m sorry you feel that way.” Mom went off the deep end after finding out and took me away from my friends and anyone I could have talked to for over six months.
  She tried intensive couples counseling and wasted years on it, but it all came down to him being diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder. He never apologized. He just acts like everyone else is in the wrong and never takes responsibility for his staggeringly selfish actions. © fractalrock / Reddit

To balance out the chaos, we’ve gathered a heartwarming collection of wholesome stories that are sure to brighten your day. These tales celebrate the kindness, love, and joy that remind us the world is filled with good people and happiness—if only we take a moment to notice.