He worked as a pharmaceutical rep, stole the meds from his employer, and sold them to the chemists for knock-down prices. Thought that was bad? That’s nothing…
I found out about 14 months ago that he’d stolen £40,000 from me and my brother.
- I discovered a friend of mine is insanely rich.
We grew up together, and then we lost touch. When we ran into each other again, we just started hanging out like normal—regular bars, regular restaurants, etc. Then we were talking about looking for jobs, and he said he had found a couple, but nothing he wanted.
I was surprised because I knew he had been out of work for a while. So I asked, and he told me how much money he had. I was shocked but found it really cool how he hasn’t changed at all because of it.
- My uncle got his college girlfriend pregnant with twins.
My grandfather gave him money to marry her, but he abandoned her and signed away all rights. The twins reached out to my grandparents after they turned 18 and built a relationship with them.
I know because my grandfather told my brother while we were in college. He wanted to make sure someone would let them know when my grandparents passed away.My cousins, who I was extremely close to in my youth, have two sisters they know nothing about.
- I discovered that my boyfriend was married with a son. I found a box of his wedding photos, and he tried to tell me that he, the groom, holding the bride, was just the best man. I took the train home immediately.
He was also not 21; he was 30.
- My grandma was raised in an orphanage under the pretext that she lost both her parents and siblings during the Spanish Influenza. It turns out she and her dad survived, but her dad didn’t want to take care of her, so he left her at an orphanage, moved to Europe, and started a new family.
- I found out two years ago, at the age of 34, that my dad had a secret family and I have an older half-sister.
Then I found out that he tried to name me her exact first and middle name before I was born. He pushed very hard to name me her name, and that was their plan at first, but thankfully my mom changed her mind at the last minute for an unknown reason.
- I got a boyfriend in 6th grade—the cutest boy in the class. I told my mom his name, and she freaked out!
Come to find out, his dad had a brief thing with my aunt (my mom’s sister), and my aunt’s oldest daughter was actually my little boyfriend’s half-sister.
My cousin doesn’t know, and how on EARTH did a 6th-grade me keep that secret?? I went to school the next day and told poor Jeremy I didn’t like him anymore.
- My best friend hated my husband.
She always said, “Don’t trust him!” Weeks after our wedding, she left town. It was sudden. I cried, but my husband said, “Just let it go!”
3 years later, she returned and asked to see me.I froze when I saw her; she had become a mother. She introduced me to her little boy… He was three.
Then, she asked me to sit. With a heavy heart, she told me the truth—her child was my husband’s son. They had a brief fling while I was busy preparing for my wedding.
My whole world shattered.I had never suspected a thing. It felt like a terrible nightmare, but it was real. I went home and asked for a divorce immediately.
Now, I can’t trust anyone—not a husband, not a friend.
- My dad had a daughter before I was born and never admitted it to anyone in the family. He was basically on his deathbed when he admitted it to me. I was able to track down my half-sister a few years back, and we were supposed to meet, but she was very emotional about the whole thing and backed out at the last minute.
I have since left her alone.
- My boss’s father was an oil and gas engineer who traveled the world for decades for work, while the kids grew up in his hometown. His family thought of him as a quiet, introverted man who spent his life earning a living for his family.
When he passed, my boss went through his stuff and found evidence of dozens of affairs all over the world.
They say things aren’t always as they seem, and for some, life itself is an illusion. Here are 12 true stories of people who unknowingly lived in a carefully crafted illusion.
