Family Secrets That Were Finally Shared At the Worst Possible Time

Every family has their secrets, and some are better at hiding these secrets than others. But no matter what the dark skeletons that are hiding in the closet are, they usually have a way of coming to the surface sooner or later.

These real people shared their experiences of family secrets coming to life, for better and for worse.

He Hid His Diagnosis

One day, my dad told my mom he was flying to our holiday home on the other side of the state to do some maintenance on the house and he would be gone for about a week.

The truth was so much more devastating. What he was really doing was going to the hospital to get a brain tumor removed. He’d hidden his cancer for months and didn’t tell anyone—not even his wife of 45 years.

After a week, he was discharged. He went home and told my mom the whole story. When we asked why he didn’t tell anyone, his response was heartbreaking. He said that he didn’t want to scare or stress anyone out.

I think my mom almost put him straight back in that hospital. Thank God it all went well, and he is still cancer-free.

Story credit: Reddit / International_Cash51

Brainwashed

When I was in fourth grade I read some text messages between my mom and the man she owned a business with. At the time I had no idea what they meant, but they were along the lines of “I love you so much, can’t wait to see you again”.

Recently, my parents got divorced and my sister and me discovered that my mom had an affair for 15 years. This man went to my birth and pretty much every big event that has happened in my life.

I realized she was having an affair around a year before my parents’ divorce, from walking in on them kissing.

My mom is a very controlling person and has brainwashed my sisters into thinking my dad is a horrible person. Me and my sisters currently do not live together—I’m with my dad and my sisters are with my mom.

When I threatened to expose my mom to her friends and family, she threatened to kick me out and make sure I never live in a house again.

After I told my friends about what she did she threw a 25-pound dumbbell at me. Now I am bigger and stronger than her, so she will not mess with me. After a very awful childhood, I was put into a lot of therapy—but there’s still a problem.

None of my therapists have ever been on my side, and they break HIPAA laws by telling my mom everything we talk about.

Story credit: Reddit / Whatisamee

Little to Show For It

A few years before my Dad passed on, he had a chat with me about what my Mum had done. It turns out that she forged my Dads signature to re-mortgage their house and used the money to spend on whatever she wanted, when my dad confronted her with the evidence all she said was “It’s only money.”

To add to this, she ran up multiple credit cards to five-figure sums. On those, my dad bailed her out at least three times. Eventually, my dad had to re-mortgage a small portion of their house to bail her out again. This was when they were retired.

I found out the actual sum that he bailed her out of when I was clearing out the house after she passed on. I found a small piece of paper with the sums written down by my dad. It came to nearly £50,000.

My dad said he never left her because of me and my brother, she never owned up to it and never apologized, not even sure if my brother knows the full scale of what she did. I will never forgive my mum for what she did and I am glad she is gone.

I miss my dad terribly. After he told me this, everything that went on between my mom and dad during my younger years all fell into place.

For all the money my mom spent, she had little to show for it. I have no idea what she spent it on. Story credit: Reddit / CaptH3inzB3anz

Stay in Contact

My uncle served in Vietnam. While over there, his troop found a baby that had been orphaned or abandoned, they aren’t sure. My uncle was shipping back to Australia soon and wanted to adopt him, but my aunt said no.

They’d only been married about four months when he was drafted, so while I don’t agree with my aunt’s actions and generally don’t like her as a person, I can understand why she said no.

My uncle’s troop found a family to raise the baby, and that’s the story the whole family knows—but there’s way more to it than that.

The secret is that my uncle and some other guys from his troop stayed in contact with the family and the kid, sending them money every month to help raise him and then to help him go to university.

They eventually helped him and his adoptive family move to Australia in the late 90s. My aunt and the rest of my family had no idea all this time, it only came out when my aunt and uncle divorced in 2017 and she had a forensic accountant go through their bank records.

She worked at a bank for like 40 years and always noticed the money missing, but his reasons were always justified. Since we all know now, my uncle has introduced some of us to the guy and his family. They’re all really lovely people.

Story credit: Reddit / Aetra