There are many events when our curiosity gets the better of us, leading us to know others or uncover hidden truths. Many members choose to reveal their family’s most guarded secrets online, and it’s evident that sharing these hidden stories brings them a sense of relief and freedom.

Story 1:
Since we were kids, my brother got the best of everything. My parents even paid his college tuition while I worked to pay mine. All my life, I blamed them for favoring him because he’s a boy.
Now I’m 43, and recently, I told Dad, “I’ll make sure to tre:at my 2 kids equally, unlike you!”
He teared up. Mom tried to stop him, but then he made a disturbing confession. He said, “It’s time you know—I’m not your brother’s father.”
I was stunned as he explained that when I was three, he and Mom briefly separated. During that time, she got involved with a wealthy man and became pregnant with my brother. Their fling lasted a few months before she returned to Dad.
The wealthy man didn’t want to be involved in my brother’s life, but he offered to send money each month to support his son. Dad wanted Mom back so badly that he agreed, even though it meant his own daughter and her son wouldn’t grow up with the same advantages. The worst part? My brother has no idea.

Story 2:

Story 3:
My great-grandfather ran a racket selling stolen coal and hid the money by buying land and part of a hotel in Florida. They found out after he di:ed when the other hotel owners wanted to buy out my great-grandmother’s share of the hotel.
She ended up with the whole hotel and then sold it, along with the land, a few years later. How she did it still isn’t known because the kids didn’t know anything about it until she passed away. © Unknown author / Reddit

Story 4:

Image for illustrative purpose only.
My grandma found out a few years ago that her dad doubled up and had two children with another woman. This absolute joker named the kids the exact same names as my gran and her brother, so he never had to worry about mixing up names. © Ok-String6517 / Reddit

Story 5:
My SIL just told us that she has basically been ’the other woman,’ secretly dating her boss for the last 18 months, which has resulted in her boss’s 10-year relationship ending. He has a 1-year-old daughter with his now ex-partner. The worst part is my SIL believes they are soulmates and doesn’t want to end it. © alltheaids / Reddit

Story 6:

Story 7:
A relative was on new psychiatric meds that weren’t working, and he told his psychiatrist that he couldn’t control himself and was going to commit a robbery. The psychiatrist didn’t take him seriously, so he went out, robbed a place, came back to the office, and dropped the bag of stolen money on the psychiatrist’s coffee table. Naturally, he did some time for that. © SailorVenus23 / Reddit

Story 8:
My mother told me for 40 years that my birth dad left us and didn’t want to see me, so I’d never followed up trying to contact him. Turns out, she told him I didn’t want to see him. Now he’s de:ad, and that can never be fixed. Thanks, Mum! © OldLondon / Reddit

Story 9:
When I was little, I loved Babysitters Club, and I remember reading one where there was a secret sibling. I thought that was awesome and always wished that’d happen to me. Guess who later found out they had a secret half-sibling?
I had an older brother whose dad took him when he was young, and, it being the 70s and him on the birth certificate, my 20-year-old mom couldn’t do much without exorbitant amounts of money for lawyers, which she didn’t have. She eventually met my dad, had me and my sister, but kept filing paperwork and trying to find him.
Anyway, we met after I searched for him on AOL Instant Messenger (there’s more to it, but that’s how I found him initially), and I love him a ton. He saw our mom for the first time in 36 years last year. He’s great. © romero0705 / Reddit