Many people shared family secrets that had everything to do with romantic relationships, affairs, and the parenting of children.

Often, kids get passed off to people besides their biological parents. And it stays hidden for as long as possible, but it always seems to come out.

Nowhere to Go With the Info

"My mother is kid #7 of 10. My aunt (kid #4) who was born in 1945 did her DNA and found out that she has a different father from everyone else. She was devastated. There was always rumor that there was an affair but nobody talked about it."

"She has so many questions but nobody's alive to answer her."

-- I_see_farts

A Long Journey Home

"Found out my grandma had a baby as a teenager and was forced to give him up for adoption by my great grandparents."

"40 years later he found us"

-- dont-take-my-soup

Shocking, But Not So Bad

"My cousin is actually my sister. Apparently my mom got pregnant really young and her much older sister adopted my sister and raised her as her own. It was actually an amazing moment when we found out."

"My cousin (sister) and the sister I was raised with and I are really really close. Just happened last year. We're all old now (I'm 50 and my cousin/sister is 58) so it's just a really neat thing that makes us all happy."

-- voice_of_craisin

A Welcome Bombshell

"About a month ago, my mother-in-law's 88 year old sister revealed on her death bed that her husband's best friend was actually the father of all 4 of her children."

"Her husband was an abusive grade A jerk by all accounts. While everyone was shocked, no one was saddened by this news."

-- roo1ster

Christmas Blowup

"We went to my grandmother's for Christmas dinner like we did every year and my uncle drank too much, and kind of hinted that he had an affair with my mother. A couple of months and two dna tests later we found out my sister is actually his daughter."

"My dad never spoke to his brother again. And of course, my parents got divorced. And I needed a lot of therapy... and chocolate."

-- oliveotherraindeer

Other people discussed the ancestors who've engaged in some kind of criminal act. We'd all prefer to assume killers and thieves wouldn't be in our own family.

But they certainly can be.

A Strange Alibi

"My uncles are infamous criminals who killed multiple people."

"I thought they bred dogs."

-- keavyseancy

An Ongoing Shadow

"My grandparents are first cousin's... an uncle on the same side of the family is in prison for the assassination of a presidential candidate (family still says he was framed and is innocent)"

-- Cervesaz

What a Way to Go

"My great great grandfather was exiled and banned from Missouri for being a sheep thief" -- ksromo

"Does your family suffer a curse because of your no-good, dirty, rotten, sheep stealing great great grandfather?" -- perkcherp

A Fuzzy Past

"My great grandfather didn't die of cancer."

"He died from complications after being shot when one of his businesses was being robbed. Maybe. He also spent a lot of time in Atlantic City. He also had a lot of partners in the Teamsters and other unions in coal country. Also, everyone called him "smiling Tony' but his name wasn't Tony."

"He died in the 60s, long before my time, but when my great grandmother died 20 years ago, a very old guy showed up to the funeral in a white suit and all of the oldest people in my family kisses his hand. When I asked, no one knew who he was."

"My grandfather moved his family away from central PA in the late 60s and disconnected from all of this but, there it is."

-- Amenra7

So the next time you decide to put the time and effort into learning the stories of the ancestors who came before you, be prepared for the possibility that some shocking news comes along with all the quaint moments.

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