When it happens that we discovered a hidden truth or unravel the genuine reason behind a puzzling memory, our world can turn upside down. These revelations, although related to something that took months or even years ago, can have a strong impact on our presence and how we start to perceive reality. This experience can easily mess up with our psyche and make us question everything.
At best, they can teach us life lessons and make us better individuals.
Below are twelve incredible stories shared by people on Reddit.
1. One of my old schoolmates grew up in a single-parent household with his mother. His father was absent most of the time due to a supposedly transient job. However, the real reason for his absence, known to the parents and school, was a lengthy prison sentence for serious crimes like fraud, embezzlement, or false accounting. The mother reverted to her maiden name to avoid association with him. Although the father has since been released, I have never met him. © Eddie_H***er / Reddit
2. My best friend and his wife had been attempting to have a second child for years without success. Then, one day, he discovered that his wife had been secretly taking birth control because she didn’t want another child. © squirrel-phone / Reddit
3. My father’s ex-wife, whom we lived with for seven years (they separated when I was 14), secretly held onto my father’s key for six months. She would enter our apartment when we were out or asleep. We discovered her one night when my dad couldn’t sleep and caught her unlocking the door. © blackeyedb***h / Reddit
4. I found out that when my dad visits his hometown to see his father, he still takes his ex-girlfriend (whom he dated from ages 16 to 22) out to dinner. He continues to call her Junebug, using the pet name he had for her during their relationship, but he has never mentioned any of this to my mom. © doggonfreshmemes*** / Reddit
5. I discovered that my grandfather had an affair and fathered a child while my grandmother was pregnant back in 1926. Additionally, one of my brothers has two children that no one else knows about. People are aware of the six children he has now (two with his ex, two with his wife, and her two from a previous marriage), but no one knows about the other two children living in the same town. I know about their existence, but not their identities or who their mother is. © TeutonicTwit / Reddit
6. When my grandma was in her 90s, she began to exhibit early signs of dementia. One day, while spending time with her, she unexpectedly shared that her husband wasn’t actually related to his mother. His mother had been searching for a son in China, and someone in the village was selling their child for a bag of rice. © Fukuzai / Reddit
7. I discovered that my mom had an affair with our downstairs neighbor, who is about 20 years older than her, while they were both married. © pumpkinrum / Reddit
8. I’m in my early 20s, and earlier this year, I discovered that I have a half-brother who is 10 years older than me. My mom put him up for adoption at birth because of pressure from her parents. She told me she had tried to reconnect with him when I was young, but his adoptive parents did not want contact. This information came out accidentally when my dad had too much to drink, and my mom was very upset. I don’t think she would have ever told me otherwise. I might even be an aunt now! © D***hNips93 / Reddit
9. A few weeks ago, my mom revealed that I had an aborted sibling and that I was almost aborted as well. My dad had urged her to go through with it, but she felt immense guilt and couldn’t do it again with me. © ColdSweeter / Reddit
10. While my parents were still married, I discovered my dad had a girlfriend when I found a Valentine’s Day card from her, who is now his wife. A few years later, I learned about their engagement through her Facebook page, even though I had never met her. Then, I found out about their marriage through my aunt’s Facebook, still without any acknowledgment from my dad about her existence. © alexthenotadragqueen / Reddit
11. My now ex-partner, who I broke up with last month, pretended to have cancer for a year. Without going into too many details, she led me and our friends to believe she was dying for some time. I’m still trying to process it all. © Organiczygote / Reddit
12. I attended an international school in Asia that drew students with very wealthy parents, many of whom arrived in brand-new Mercedes cars with their chauffeurs. I was on a scholarship, and my family was working-class. I never understood why my mom would take me to school at 6 a.m. before anyone else arrived and park the car far away behind a large tree. She used to tell me it was good to get some exercise before school. Years later, I discovered she was embarrassed about our small Mitsubishi and wanted to protect me from being picked on by other kids who might notice our relative poverty. © jessiehailey /
What are your thoughts on this? Do you have any recollections about past events?
