12 People Who Found Out a Crushing Truth About Their Past

Every family keeps some big secrets that, if they come out, can totally change everything. Feeling uneasy or really confused when we find out a hidden truth is normal. But some folks use that discomfort to get stronger. The people in our compilation have decided to share the secrets they found out about their family’s past online, which can feel freeing.

• I found out my mom was my half-brother’s speech therapist. Our father was married at the time with two kids and lived one block away from the school where she worked. Within six months, he was divorced and married to my mother in a private wedding. He was having an affair with his kid’s teacher © s***ebola** / Reddit

• My older sister used to play our Disney read-along tapes to me every night while guiding me through the words in the books; she taught me to read this way. I didn’t realize until years later that she was using the tapes to cover the sound of our parents fighting downstairs. It saddens me that she never got to have a childhood. © Unknown user / Reddit

• I met my Grandpa’s other family at his funeral.
  It blew me away when I saw a guy in his 50s who looked exactly like my grandfather... I had never met the guy, and it turns out he was my dad’s half-brother. © DweeblesX / Reddit

• When I was 15, my dad revealed to me that the reason my parents got divorced was because my mom was having an affair with her boss. Where is that boss now? He’s my step-dad. Furthermore, I have a 34-year-old sister whom my mom had never mentioned. © Unknown user / Reddit

• My dad left us after my mom had me and didn’t come around for a few months. He was in my life most of my life (we do not speak anymore), but I didn’t find this out until recently. He doesn’t know I know. It makes me look at him differently, also because my ex left me and our son (we are good now with co-parenting), and my dad was judging my ex very harshly. © Kiwigirl80 / Reddit

• The reason my whole family hates my step-grandmother is that she was the ’’Other Woman’’ who cheated with my grandfather, leading him to divorce my grandmother when I was a baby. I didn’t find out until my grandfather died of a heart attack. © Notmiefault / Reddit

• I found out my dad wasn’t my biological dad, and my biological dad was my mom’s first husband.
  My brother and I both now know, but we won’t say a word to Mom about it. Bio dad passed away a month ago, so that is what it is. Oddly enough, my grandma told me this when I was really young. But I assumed she was just crazy or hated my dad for whatever reason. © GamerMagoo87 / Reddit

• I discovered my mom was briefly married to some other guy and was homeless for a while. She never took my father’s last name, and they are weird about most things that I would describe as hallmarks of a loving, more than platonic relationship.
  But she won’t talk about the other marriage or being homeless at all, other than the one time she let it slip. © CheezWhizMasterRace / Reddit

• My mom was cheating on my dad and had a baby from another man. I found out a while back that my younger sister is actually my half-sister.
  Then I found out my dad knew all along that it wasn’t his baby but raised her as his own. He never told me or my older sister. He passed away and took this to the grave. I admire what he did, but I wish he had told me. © Martimusmcfly2036 / Reddit

• My mother had a daughter before she met my dad. She never told me or any of my siblings. I found a small scrapbook about my half-sister one day. It’s a little sad to think I have a half-sister I’ve never met. © thatoneskullkid / Reddit

• I was 30 years old when I realized my parents met and had an affair while my dad was married to his first wife. So my mom, whom I adore and who is the sweetest, mild-mannered lady, all along was “the other woman.” © Low_Mark491 / Reddit

• I found out last year (I’m 20) that my mom cheated on my dad around the time she became pregnant with me. I don’t look like either of my parents, but none of us want to deal with a DNA test. Besides, he’s my dad regardless; a test won’t change that. © LessThan3 / Reddit

Discovering surprising truths or noticing unpleasant behavior about a romantic partner can be just as upsetting as uncovering family secrets. The people in this article have gone through this exact scenario and decided to open up and tell their stories to the world.