Reddit user u/daddydempy recently asked others to share the secrets they know that could probably ruin someone else's life if they ever got out. Here are some of the juiciest responses:
1. This bachelor party:
"A coworker of mine bragged at work about losing his virginity the night of his bachelor party, but his wife still doesn't know and thinks they lost their virginity to each other on their wedding night. It's a VERY big deal to her and would most likely end in their divorce if she ever found out."
2. This HR violation:
"One of my former colleagues denied vacation requests for staff so he could instead approve a request for a subpar employee who he kissed at an office party. He's on an H1-B visa and if he were fired, he would have to go back to India and his wife would find out what happened. He's too lazy to apply for a visa change to get off the H1-B and is a shitty manager in general."
3. This contentious affair:
"My brother had an affair with one of my friend's mums. She used to give him a lift to work when he was 18 years old, and she started being suggestive on one drive so they pulled over and hooked up. This continued for over six months. She ended up getting obsessed with him and he blocked her on all social media and his phone, and basically buried his head in the sand. Her husband is a huge, scary guy who owns one of the pubs, and her son is a lifelong friend of mine. None of them know. He only told me and she, seemingly, didn’t tell anyone. It’s pretty weird having such a weighted secret."
4. This absolute grift:
"I know an older guy who claimed disability when filing for social security. He says he's in so much pain because of past injuries, he can't even drive. He has his girlfriend take off work and drive him to his in-person SS appointments just to keep up the charade. Has a walker just for these appointments, too. But in the warmer months, he takes daylong motorcycle rides with her every weekend. He's also in a band, and he stands on stage for hours for every set maybe once or twice a month. He drives himself to the store, and will drive an hour or so away to hang out with friends. So much for pain."
5. This unspoken arrangement:
"A good friend of mine is Indian and gay, which she knows her family won't accept. She's about to have an arranged marriage to a man who is also gay. Neither of their families know the truth and are excited about the upcoming wedding. The groom's boyfriend is part of the wedding party. They plan to have children via IVF at some point."
6. This not-so-innocent child:
"My good friend's family is very religious. I was with her during her rebellious stage in which she got into everything her family hated. She got piercings, drank alcohol, dated guys — there was a video of her in a threesome that we had to delete from a guy's cell phone — and even has a couple of tattoos.
She's now of legal age and her family treats her as the exemplary girl who never gave them any problems. She's in a one-year relationship with a boy from church whom they approve of. If they knew the things she did in her adolescence, they would completely disown her and take away all the financial stability she has, since she continues to live with her parents. Plus, all of her neighbors would stop talking to her because her father is the pastor of the church."
7. This family tie:
"My friend had sex with his wife's sister long before they got married. She has no idea."
8. This protective lie:
"I used to know someone who told her daughter that her biological father was dead. He is not, and he is very findable. I never said anything because the father in question was a violent douche and she wanted to protect her child."
9. This glorious tattoo:
My mom is the most straight-laced, uptight person you can imagine, and she works very high-level financial jobs for the government. If you looked up 'professional woman' in the dictionary, it would probably just be a picture of her. What no one else knows is that she has a tattoo on the back of her leg of a bear with penises instead of legs."
Like, where its legs would be, there are just massive dicks. She wears tights or pants to cover it all the time. As far as I know, I'm the only person that knows about it. She was a very wild teenager and met up with an 'aspiring tattoo artist' (aka rando with a tattoo gun) in a hotel room to get a tattoo of a bear when she was 16 years old. The guy got a little excessively creative and gave her a bear with dicks for legs.
It's so vulgar that if anyone saw it I think there's a good chance she'd lose her job, or at least have some serious explaining to do. I once asked her why she doesn't get it removed, and she told me it's her 'symbol to her stupid youth.'"
10. This college admissions scandal:
"One of my closest friends went to an Ivy League college and he very much acts like it on a regular basis. I know — but he doesn't — that his parents bought his way in. His grades were far too mediocre."
11. This evil stepmother move:
"My stepmom threw away a family heirloom that was gifted to me to make my already poor relationship with my dad worse. I didn't figure it out until many years later, but my dad has passed now, and she was never popular with any of my family or any of his friends to begin with."
12. This family secret:
"My cousin thinks her dad died in a car crash, but he wasn’t her real dad. Her real dad has passed away now too, though. Most of the family knows, but she never found out. Her brothers are her half-brothers, not full. She has no idea."
13. This lucrative business venture:
"I went to university with a guy who became a very successful drug dealer on the dark web. He made tens of millions, then quietly retired somewhere in Asia and opened a vegan restaurant. His wife and kids don't have a clue."
14. This unexpected find:
"Years ago, I was trawling sketchy personals listings and came across my then-manager at work. He not only posted his face, but I could also see his tattoos, so it was definitely him. Anyhow, he was servicing men and women starting at $100. I never told anyone and I hated the fact that I'd seen his penis."
15. This self-medication:
"My ex micro-doses mushrooms at work. He's a pharmacist at a well-known retail chain. He's also growing them in his house. Not super illegal, but the charge could cost him his career."
16. This "sinful" encounter:
"I had sex with my Mormon boyfriend before and after he went on his mission, and also either directly before or even after he'd proposed to his now wife (he didn't think it was particularly important to tell me that he'd found a good Mormon fiancé in another town already). That's a big no-no in the Mormon church."
17. And finally, this double life:
"My girlfriend's grandfather has a secret family. He emigrated to my country from the US when he was younger, and has kept in touch with his partner. But he's also dating a woman here who's the mother of a very prominent political figure in my country. He travels back and forth from my country to the States to 'visit family' and 'play golf', and his current girlfriend has no idea. The one living in the US actually knows about the other one, but the one in my country is fairly religious and would probably not approve."