Unsplash | Sai De Silva

15 Family Secrets People Found Out About

When it comes to matters of family, no secret stays buried for long. Sooner or later, the truth rises to the top like the cream of the crop.

Sometimes, these secrets can bring about good things. Other times, we wish they'd have just stayed unearthed. Have a look and check out these 15 family secrets that people found out about.

This could be a boring Lifetime movie!

Unsplash | Roberto Sorin

"An uncle of mine, at least great uncle if not great-great, apparently invented a machine to apply casings to batteries, and had the credit stolen somehow. My family would be pretty damn wealthy if it wasn't for that. Oh well." - Reddit u/PhobosIsDead

"My grandmother shot and killed my grandfather in a drunken rage." - Reddit u/trombonedarling

Unsplash | Matt Popovich

I have such empathy for families who have experienced tragedies such as this. The pain it must cause and the rift left behind must be unbearable at times.

How well does anyone really know their own parents?

"My Mom and her first husband where[sic] semi big time[sic] drug dealers in the 70's, so much so that my mom had to leave him with my sister in fear for their safety." - Reddit u/snipercandyman

"My great grandfather was the Dragon of the western sect of the Klan." - Reddit u/Misterspyder2

Unsplash | Alex Radelich

I don't know how anyone would be able to come to grips with their family legacy upon discovering something like this. Hopefully, you'd find some way to put all that guilt to good use.

Reach for the sky.

"My step-grandfather's dad or grandfather robbed a bank around the 20's or 30's, I have the .32 win spec single shot rifle he used. It probably isn't worth much but the story is so interesting." - Reddit u/ancap-and-ball

"I have a great great great something grandfather who was a judge from the Salem witch trials and put people to their deaths." - Reddit u/guns4hands

Unsplash | Steve DiMatteo

I'm not exactly sure how accurate this claim is, but if it's true then I definitely would want to go trick-or-treating at your house come Halloween.

Tragedy like this rarely stays buried.

Unsplash | Emiliano Bar

"My dad wasn't the youngest of 6 like he always said, he was actually the youngest of 7. My previously unknown uncle (who was my grandparents[sic] oldest child) ran away from home and surfaced about 20 years later after he killed a mentally handicapped guy." - Reddit u/Blue-eyed-lightning

"My Mother let slip about ten years ago that I have an older brother." - Reddit u/Alliekat1282

Unsplash | Kylo

I can't even imagine how I would begin to process that information. I want to think that a part of me would be interested in reaching out and forging a relationship, but I don't know if that's being a bit idealistic?

The tangled webs we weave.

Unsplash | Mayron Oliveira

"My mums[sic] mother had an affair with her brother in law and that's how my mum was conceived. They never told my mum that her real dad was her 'uncle' until her mother was on her deathbed." - Reddit u/artthoufeelinitnow

"My father had an affair with his brother's wife so my cousin is also my brother." - Reddit u/O-shi

As if this wasn't spicy enough, apparently the cousin has absolutely no idea. The grandmother only spilled the tea after she'd had too much to drink one night.

Do as I say, not as I do.

Unsplash | NeONBRAND

"My mom didn't graduate high school because she got kicked out of her private Catholic school. She went to public for a little bit, but hated it. So she dropped out, got her GED, and got a job as a book keeper[sic] for Merryl Lynch." - Reddit u/freckleface2113

"I had a great-grand father[sic] who pretty much defrauded the company he was managing out of hundreds of thousands of dollars." - Reddit u/BlurDynamic

I want to believe that your great grandfather was some sort of corporate Robin Hood; robbing from the rich and giving to the needy. However, I think that's wishful thinking.

When you discover you have a half-sibling halfway around the world.

Unsplash | Annie Spratt

"My dad, while in the navy, had an affair with a Filipino woman. My mother (who was 5 months pregnant with me) found out, told my dad to never see/talk to the woman again. Turns out my dad got the woman pregnant, so now I have a half sibling[sic] running around somewhere in Asia." - Reddit u/eyefvck

"My aunt with a very "holier-than-thou" attitude has been having a 40+ year affair with a childhood sweetheart." - Reddit u/catbup

Unsplash | freestocks

I refuse to believe that anyone is capable of keeping an ongoing affairs secret for more than 40 years. This is blissful ignorance at its utmost finest.

Discovering that your father isn't your father at all.

"A little late, but in 2015 I found out that I wasn't actually my dads[sic] child. No one else in my family knows except my mother, dad, brothers, and my mothers[sic] parents. Messed me up for a while to realize that everything is been told about myself was almost a lie. " - Reddit u/unknown