They say that everyone has at least one deep, dark secret that they plan on taking with them to the grave—but what happens when someone else knows yours? As bad as that sounds on its own, it becomes even worse when they were never meant to know it. Unfortunately for some people, this is exactly the case. Here are 42 forbidden secrets that people know anyway about others in their lives.
1. A Slap in the Face
I just found out recently that my grandma, who I have taken care of for the last seven years doesn't want me to have a single dime of the $100,000 life insurance policy that she has—even though she would have been on the streets without me. Feels great.
2. That’s Pretty Ruff
I am about to graduate college. My parents were teasing about setting me up on a date with a "guy with black hair whose name starts with an M". I was irritated and kept asking for more details, but wasn't given any. Yesterday, I was social media stalking one of my cousins and saw that she posted a video of a cute black puppy named Max, who was the exact type of breed that my dog growing up was who had passed on while I was at college.
I had been planning on getting one later this year. After thinking for a while about why my cousin would get a dog exactly like the one I really wanted, I remembered what my parents said about setting me up with a guy with black hair and a name starting with M. I took a second look at the video and, sure enough, it was recorded in my parents' living room.
So, I'm pretty sure I'm getting a puppy next weekend! I actually feel really guilty for finding out, though…
3. Hot Potato
The restaurant that I used to work at had some pretty popular sweet potato fries. Everyone thinks we make them in house. I know that they actually come frozen in a bag.
4. Bringing Out the Beast in Him
I know that my grandfather was secretly into some really dark stuff. When I was a teen and still visited my grandparents' house often, I would log into YouTube with my own account on the family computer there because it was convenient. One day, I forgot to sign out before going back home. For about five days after that, I was inadvertently able to see the kind of stuff that my grandpa was searching for on YouTube.
I guess he didn't know where else to find this kind of stuff. I know I could've just paused my search history, but I was simultaneously sickened and curious as to how far this would go.
5. Getting Into the Routine
I know that my mom and dad always get intimate on a schedule—exactly three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:00 PM, after work.
6. This Will Require Some Healing...
I was accidentally given access to all of the salary information of a large hospital. Finding out that some doctors made $80K while others made $800K was pretty eye-opening.
7. Getting Personal
I know that my parents regret adopting me. How’s that for a secret?!
8. All in the Family
My great grandparents were brother and sister. I don't want to believe it, but it’s unfortunately true.
9. Family Tradition
I know what's in my mom’s will. My brother gets almost everything—90% of her estate. I once kind of confronted her about it without letting on that I actually knew—you know, wording it as a hypothetical kind of thing. She responded by basically admitting to what she was doing and stating that she would be giving him a "larger share" because he was weaker and not as well educated—whereas since I am educated, I was going to be fine even if I got nothing from her.
I just accepted it and moved on. Nothing is worth my family, man. My grandfather was self-made, and gave my father nothing but an education. He gave the rest his land and cows, and within less than a decade they were all destitute and begging for money from my dad. My father is self-made, and he has given me an education. I will be self-made too.
10. Dear Diary
I read my mom's diary from 2002 when I was 9 years old. Thanks to that, I found out that she got an abortion when she was a teen. I didn't understand what it meant at the time, but now I do—and I'm feeling kind of guilty for all the times I asked her for a sibling.
11. Getting Heated
I just found out that my boyfriend’s mom used to offer herself to all of the men at our local fire department, whether unmarried or married. Some of the men even got in trouble and were suspended as a result of it.
12. Ancient History
Before she was married to my dad, my mom had a child out of wedlock and gave him up for adoption. This was way back in the early 70s. She will never find out that I know about this.
13. The Letter of the Law
I have a copy of a private investigative report on a local teacher’s alleged former criminal conduct that the local DA unsuccessfully sued for to use in a criminal complaint. As a result, the subject of the report is still practicing, because he was acquitted. I legally can't do a thing with it, even though I know that he's still working with young people.
14. It’s a Not-So Beautiful Day in This Neighborhood
I know that my mother slept with several of the men in our neighborhood while my dad was very ill and literally dying.
15. Silver Medal
My sister was trying to flirt with this guy at a bar, but then lost him in the crowd. She went to the bar again the next day to have a drink and see if he'd come back. This other guy walked up and she chatted with him as an excuse to stay longer and look for the original guy. She shrugged and thought, "He'll do for now, I guess". They just got back from their honeymoon. I will never tell him.
16. A Change Is Gonna Come
My supervisor is really close to getting fired. Upper management isn't supposed to talk about it, but they do—probably because they know we'd all quit if we thought she was staying. She sucks.
17. The Middle Man
I know that my parents have both cheated on each other. Neither one knows that the other one did.
18. If at First, You Don’t Succeed...
I know that my mom tried to have Child Protective Services take my daughter away from me when she was born, claiming that I had used illicit substances while I was pregnant. I was actually nine years clean at the time. She tried again when I was diagnosed with cancer. You would be amazed to see what doctors actually put in your medical records…
19. Friendzoned
I know that a close friend of mine used to be in love with my current boyfriend. I’m going to do my best to never bring it up to her.
20. Double Whammy
My mom long-term replaced my dad’s cancer pain pills with Tylenol, to fuel her own drug problem. I didn’t discover this until long after he passed on—and just two months later, she died from an overdose.
21. Too Much Information
I know that my ex-girlfriend once did something inappropriate with her brother when they were both young. I hate her with a passion, but I have still never told anyone and probably never will. That would just be stooping to a level that I never want to reach.
22. His Other Side
My dad has been secretly growing some apparently fantastic pot for over 50 years now. Apparently, that was how he was able to make car payments when he was unemployed for a few years, even though he could have worked but didn't. He's got a lot of nice things that are above his employment level. It never registered why, until my mom accidentally told us who used to be her supplier when she was back in her hippy days. My dad. This boring loner who's never been in trouble in his life. A real square who married a free love hippy. A weed outlaw.
23. Candid Camera
My boss at the place where I used to work would go on road trips with a crew of product installers. They'd spend the night sharing a couple of hotel rooms. The boss would secretly take pictures of his all-male employees at night while they slept. He is unhappily married with three grown children, and there is plenty of evidence that he is gay but deep in the closet. We all wish that he would just come out and make everyone's life easier.
24. Love at First Sight
I know how my parents met. My mom was a dancer and dad just happened to go to the club she worked at one night.
25. An Unauthorized Raise?
My dad secretly told me that my mom once embezzled a whole bunch of money from the places where she used to work.
26. Just in Case
I know that my dad has several notes prepared and ready to go in case he ever decides to go through with ending his life…
27. We’re Halfway There
I know that my cousins have a half sibling that they don’t know about. My lips are sealed.
28. Who’s Your Daddy?
I know that my uncle's son is not really his biological son. His wife at the time was sleeping with her cousin and boom, baby! To this day, my cousin doesn't know and treats his dad—who raised him as if he were his own and has never said a word about it to anyone but me—like garbage because of the lies his mother spread about him. I kind of want to tell him to do a DNA test so that he'll know and maybe, just maybe, realize that his mother is not exactly the saint that she’s made herself out to be.
29. Keeping Him in the Dark
My friend got a girl pregnant, and she aborted without telling him. He doesn’t even know that she was ever pregnant.
30. Young at Heart
I know that when my mother was a teenager and was pregnant with me, she drank and did a ton of illicit substances because she had never wanted to be pregnant and was planning on leaving my dad—which she did a year after she had me. She went to an abortion clinic, but couldn't go through with it. She doesn’t know that I know, and I will never tell her that I know.
I didn’t find out until well into my adulthood and I hold no hate towards her because of it. Regardless of what she did when she was young, she raised me the best that she could and gave me and my older sibling everything we ever needed. She was a very loving and hard working mom.
31. So Many Questions…
My dad has a family. A whole, entire other family that I have never met or even heard of until I recently read a report made by my school when they skipped me a grade. It details my mother's and father's family history. My father is married to another woman who I don't know, yet he still comes over and makes love to my mother often. He is a grandfather. He just turned 60 but looks like he's 30. His grandchild is the same age as me. I'm 15.
32. Out of the Loop
My dad just went through a bout with cancer. The family thought I didn’t need to know since I was away at college.
33. The Plot Thickens
I'm 60 years old and my girlfriend is 59. About 40 years ago, she wrote a book that became a bestseller. The celebrity freaked her out. She changed her name, moved to a small town and ignored everyone from her past. She doesn't know that I know all about it.
34. Spilling the Beans
I know that my mum and dad love my nephew who lives with us more than they love me. How do I know that, you ask? I overheard them literally say it while talking in bed one night.
35. Getting His Priorities in Order
I recently learned that my father used to beat my mother, that they both used to do illicit substances and shady stuff together, and that my father had had the chance to gain joint custody of me—but he didn't bother showing up to any of the several court dates that were set to settle the matter. That last one hurt the most to learn.
36. You’ve Got a Fraud in Me
Just tonight, my "friend" who I haven't seen in a long time invited me to get drinks with her after work, then canceled because she was too tired. A few minutes ago, I found photos of her and some mutual friends of ours out for drinks posted on someone else’s social media. So, apparently, the real reason I was uninvited was that she found what she considered a better option. She didn't realize I'd see the pictures. And I didn’t realize that she felt this way about me…
37. Blaming the Victim
My dad took his own life almost 20 years ago. At the time, my mum told me that it was because he had been having gay affairs with people and he couldn't handle that "sinful" lifestyle anymore. It turns out she cheated on him, and that was what had actually sent him over the edge. I only know this because I was finally able to read a copy of his note last year.
38. Three’s Company
My (single) mother enjoys threesomes. She's not the most tech-savvy person in the world and accidentally posted a threesome request publicly on Facebook.
39. Nothing Positive About This
One of my family members is HIV positive. He doesn't want the rest of the family to know. When he broke down and told my mom, I overheard. She has since passed on, and he has no idea that I know.
40. Famous Last Words
When my dad passed on, the associate pastor of my mom’s church spoke at the funeral and talked all about how devastating cancer is. Meanwhile, I knew the pastor’s secret. That pastor used to attend a different church, but had to leave after she was caught for having faked cancer for two years. Her husband left her and her daughter disowned her after they found out.
My mom was the secretary at that church. So she knew, and had already told me. My dad’s funeral was only like two years after that whole thing went down. I would have walked up to the podium and punched her right in the face were it not disrespectful to my parents.
41. When Father Is Away...
I spent a day getting tipsy with my father, who I'm not that close with and who hasn't really been involved in my life much lately even though he only lives one street away from me. I found out that the true reason that my parents split up when I was two years old was due to my mother sleeping with my father’s brother while my father was in prison.
42. Inferior Officer
I know that my superior officer, who is a huge jerk, is cheating on his wife of about 15 years with the female patrol sergeant in our law enforcement department. I could literally ruin his life with this information if I wanted to. Everyone basically hates him anyway, but I still haven't built up the nerve to face him. However, if he's ever being a jerk to me, I might just tell him that I know about this. That'll shut him up for a bit!
Sources: Reddit,
