Note: This post contains mentions of sexual abuse.
Whether we want to believe it or not, most families have drama and even ~secrets~ that are kept in the family for years. Redditor u/Amerisbf asked the community, "What’s a secret that could tear your entire family apart?" and the responses are JUICY. Here is what some people had to share:
1. "My girlfriend was in dental school and needed patients. My stepdad volunteered and checked the HIV/AIDS box. She asked if it was a mistake and he smiled and said 'Nope. And you can't tell anyone due to HIPAA.' It turns out he cheated on my mom back in 2015 and contracted the virus. I still don't know if my mom is positive because if I bring it up he will 100% come after my now wife for her career or money."
2. "My Grandma is the 'alpha' in the relationship between my grandparents. They had three sons — their oldest being my uncle Paul. There are very few moments that we get to talk to my grandfather alone due to my grandma always speaking over him and for him. This one time my grandma was in the hospital due to a recent surgery. Grandpa was talking to us in the hallway so we asked how they chose the names of our dad (he's the middle child). He explained why, but then told us a secret about how he came up with naming their first son. When he just moved to California, he fell in love with this one girl, and while their relationship didn’t work out, a piece of him still loved her. Her last name was Paul and he liked that name so he named his FIRST BORN SON after her and never told my grandma about it."
3. "I was sexually abused by a family member when I was six. I'm 37 now. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had never told a soul and had no plan to. I told my therapist and it has helped a lot. My family doesn't know, though the person who did it certainly does and we have a very small family. I've been constantly conflicted about opening this topic for discussion. I worry it would rip my family apart and leave me isolated."
4. "My grandpa secretly changed his will that me and my two cousins will get the lion's share of his heritage. My father and my aunt, both went no contact with my grandparents, are only getting the legally required portion."
5. "My sibling and I are the sole heirs of my grandparents. They are not our actual grandparents and never had kids, so no one can dispute their decision. I have lots of cousins."
6. "So this wouldn't tear my immediate family apart, but it could hurt some people. I have an uncle who is a thieving, sociopathic, narcissistic piece of garbage. He's almost in his 70s now but has kids peppered all over the country. Who knows how many, but of all the kids we know about, just one doesn't know she's his daughter. She was adopted and raised by her stepdad and never told any different. She also happens to be a teacher at my kid's school. It's really weird seeing her every day and knowing she's my cousin but I can't say anything — and she looks just like him too."
7. "My grandparents cheated on each other at different points in time. The results are that I have an uncle who is a decade younger than me, but they may not be biologically related to me since my grandfather may not be biologically my grandfather. I am the only one who knows this as both have told me and only me."
8. "Some of my cousins got their aunt a 23andme kit for her birthday. The cousins found out their dad and their aunt have different dads."
9. "My mother has actively cheated on my father multiple times. Me and my sister think it's only online for the most part but at least once she slept with someone who was living with them at the time a few years ago."
10. "The sheer amount of shit my family talks behind each other's backs. I'm the youngest of the family and no one thinks I listen so I've heard EVERYTHING. It's out of the good grace of my heart that I keep it to myself. I have so much blackmail and use none of it. It's a shame, really."
11. "My oldest aunt had a baby before her 'only child' and gave him up for adoption. I’ve met him, he’s lovely. I’ve tried to tell her, but she has ignored me and worked to isolate me from the family. I’ve kept her secret. Her husband was in Vietnam when it happened. It wasn’t his baby."
12. "Not so much a secret as much as everyone in my family choosing to ignore the obvious. My grandparents recently passed away — grandmother about two years ago, grandfather less than a year later. When we were putting together the obituary, we noticed that the period between when they were married and when my mother was born was considerably less than nine months. The younger generations obviously don’t care, but my parents, aunts, uncles, etc. refuse to acknowledge it, and even went as far as changing their date of marriage in the newspaper obituary."
13. "I won a large amount of money (high 6 figures). If I tell my family, they'll demand I give them some."
