12 People Who Unexpectedly Saw Something That Was Supposed to Stay Secret

Uncovering a secret can be a shock, even if it’s not necessarily something negative. For those who accidentally stumbled upon valuable information that was supposed to be kept hidden, or simply found out the true character of someone, dealing with it might be hard. Although everyone has a different coping mechanism, some take to social media to anonymously share their discoveries.

• I received an email from HR for a company I used to work for that contained the bank account information and routing number for both the former and new bank accounts. They mentioned conducting a test transfer before moving the funds. Interestingly, I share the same first name and last initial as the person overseeing that transfer. © Unknown user / Reddit

• I was waiting in a condo apartment lobby and asked the concierge for the Wi-Fi password. She wasn’t proficient with computers and instead turned her screen to display a text file containing every important password and key code for the building.
  This included the router password, boiler room key combination, package room door code, security camera server password, and even their concierge email login. Surprisingly, because she didn’t want to read out each letter, she allowed me to take a picture of it! © ahhbeemo / Reddit

• In 8th grade, I had my first girlfriend whom I was, of course, madly in love with, even though I had no idea how relationships worked.
  She broke up with me and then confessed to my best friend over Facebook that she had been dating another guy long distance since before me and wanted to continue dating him but more “openly,” I guess. So, she broke it off with me, and I was sitting next to him for the whole conversation.
  Needless to say, I became very devastated and angsty over this for a little while. © PM_ME_UR__SECRETS / Reddit

• When I left my last job, my general manager wasn’t exactly a warm and fuzzy person and was not pleased that I was leaving. I had to get something out of the manager’s office and saw my name in an email on the desk. She had told the other two managers to wish me the best of luck in my future career and that I would be missed. I was shocked because she took the time to send that out to them. I had never heard that from any of them, but seeing it showed that she actually cared. © Sgt-Tibbs / Reddit

• I witnessed a drop at an airport once. One person placed a briefcase near a garbage can by a gate and walked away, then someone else quickly picked it up and headed in the opposite direction. The entire exchange occurred in about 5 seconds as I was walking past. © ImNotLyingSorta / Reddit

• About 18 years ago, I witnessed two married co-workers on a date, one of whom was a new management trainee, though I knew she was married. They were kissing. We made eye contact, but no words were exchanged, as I recall.
  Since then, the female trainee has risen rapidly up the company ladder and is now a VP in this multinational, well-known company. Occasionally, she visits our facility to say hello, and while the subject never comes up, I am aware, and she knows that I know. © Texan2116 / Reddit

• When I was about 16, I was snooping in my parents’ wardrobe and found a diary written by my mother when she was 14. I read some beautifully and brilliantly written entries about meeting and dating my dad (who was 16 at the time). I had to read a little between the lines in some slightly later entries as they were written with such flowery language.
  In one such entry, all of a sudden, she discloses that my grandfather, who was an anesthesiologist, performed an abortion for her. She never told anyone. © theunicornbort / Reddit

• I saw my 65-year-old mother getting out of her wheelchair and walking around like it was nothing. She had been wheelchair-bound for five years at that point. I had my suspicions but had talked myself out of them because that was ridiculous. Who would pretend to be wheelchair-bound just for the attention? © s33k / Reddit

• I’m a teacher and was helping my student, a 12/13-year-old boy, troubleshoot his Chromebook and get it working again. I usually clear the cache and cookies as part of the process, but since they are school computers, you can’t clear the history. As I opened up the tab to clear the cache and cookies, I noticed that his latest Google search was “how to kiss.” He knew I saw it, and he looked so embarrassed. © Haillnohails / Reddit

• One day, my brother pulled me into our spare bathroom, all excited because he had found a “huge surprise” in the garbage can beside the toilet. Inside the garbage can, there was a tortilla chip bag with a whole bunch of rolled-up things inside...
  We opened it up, thinking that they were surprise toys left inside the bag by accident. We were shocked to see my mom’s bloody pads. © spookysundae / Reddit

• When I was 16, I went to a bookstore to get some books and noticed this guy and girl shopping. The guy looked familiar to me, and when he turned around, I realized it was my friend’s dad, and he was not with his wife. He noticed me, and I started freaking out since he looked pissed. He tried to bribe me with a few hundred bucks, so I took the money, lied, and said I wasn’t going to tell anyone. However, I ended up telling his wife and my friend. © Unknown user / Reddit

• In my first year of college, I had an essay accepted to the college’s journal of student scholarship. As the student worker in the department where the journal was housed, I happened to come across a note on my essay from the faculty advisor, expressing uncertainty about why the student editors had selected it but noting that it was “salvageable.” The feedback was crushing for the first-year me. Twelve years of college and grad school, along with four years of being a professional academic later, the impact of peer-review feedback remains significant. © firsttimetexan / Reddit

Every family has its hidden truths, but some are so shocking that they can change everything. It can be especially hard to keep secrets from your own partner, but for the sake of not hurting them some people never reveal them in person. However, we featured in this article some of those secrets that were revealed online, perhaps to help lighten the burden.