We all grow up with family stories. Most seem harmless, but sometimes, those tales cover up secrets no one is meant to uncover. For some, it takes decades, an old letter, or a chance discovery to realize the truth.
And when it comes out, everything they thought they knew about their past shatters in an instant.
- After both of my grandparents on my dad’s side had passed away, my dad discovered he had a sister. While cleaning out my grandparents’ apartment, he found her birth certificate.After some research, he learned that he had a sister who is severely mentally disabled. It seems my grandparents weren’t prepared to raise a child with her needs. Unfortunately, they’re no longer around to question.
- My dad was 46 when he found out about his sister. © and_of_four / Reddit
- When my parents divorced, my dad claimed he had fallen out of love. Simple as that. Ten years later, my mom admitted the real reason: he had fathered another child with a coworker.
- That child would now be the same age as my younger brother. None of us have ever met them.
- My mother got her and my dad into 6 figures of credit card debt. We found out when my dad tried to cosign my college loan.He got a call, at work, from a credit bureau asking why he ever thought he could cosign a huge loan with tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills. I will never let anyone handle my finances but me. © Unknown author / Reddit
- When I was a kid, I used to think I was visiting my grandpa at work. Later on, I learned that his “work clothes” were actually a prison uniform.A twist to the story is that my grandmother cheated on him with the sheriff who arrested him and still lives with that guy to this day. © Plumerian / Reddit
- When I was around five years old, I had a birthday party. A “friend” of my father came and asked me what I wanted for a gift. I told him I wanted a racetrack with cars.He snapped his fingers, and another man who was with him left and came back 30 minutes later with a set worth about $1,000. My parents forced me to give it back. I found out later that the man was a recruiter for the mafia, and they were trying to get my father to join or do some things. © mrnix / Reddit