Families are usually pretty adept at keeping up with appearances.
Nobody knows about curmudgeonly grandpa who cheated on grandma or another family member with a criminal history.
If the Desperate Housewives have taught us anything, it's that every family has skeletons in the closet.
The picture-perfect families tucked behind their white picket fences in the utopian neighborhood of Wisteria Lane were anything but model citizens.
Like their pearly whites gleaming in the morning sunlight, the depiction of their idyllic life was nothing but a veneer to disguise the darkness and corruption lurking behind closed doors.
However, that was all just nighttime soap opera histrionics.
Nothing is quite as dramatic in real life. Or is it?
Redditor aesthetic3 wanted to find out the moment people had an unsettling epiphany about their family by asking:
"What was your 'I'm in a toxic family' moment?"
Poverty Showers
"When my friend pointed out that most people are allowed to shower every day without having to negotiate it."
"Average middle class life. This continued until I was an adult with my own job contributing to expenses, too."
The Upstaged Mother
"I had my graduation from engineering the same day as my mother's birthday. I, of course, had nothing to do with the date choosing. My mother said I 'ruined her birthday' so she scheduled her birthday party to be on my actual birthday. Her birthday is March, mine is August."
Mama Lies
"My mom makes up lies then makes me look like the liar."
"It's called gaslighting. It's also just conveniently 'not remembering' that she agreed to something previously."
Angry Father
"My dad screamed at me for 20 minutes when I was 11, called me a b*tch and told me to get the hell out of his house when I casually mentioned we seem to argue more than other families."
"Edit, my heart hurts for everyone who shared their trauma. I'm giving you all a big hug right now. Things can get better, and I'm hoping it does for all of you. When you can, address your trauma, reach out and talk to someone. My dad regrets not having talked to someone about what he went through as a kid because of how much it hurt his own family. The problem with taking the stance of simply 'refusing to be my (blank),' is you create a whole new set of bad behaviors because you are trying to over compensate. Freedom is acknowledging that in some ways you may be like (blank), but that doesn't make you them."
Desire To Reach Out
"When I moved in with my SO and noticed she called her family for things I would never call my own for because she actually likes them and doesn't see communicating with them as an obligation, but rather because she wanted them to be part of her everyday life."
– Nambot
Same
"This is something I noticed with my husband too. He talks to his family almost daily and has a good familiar relationship with his parents. I talk to my family maybe twice a year and it fills me with dread. Doing family stuff with him is hard and it makes me uncomfortable to be around a "normal" family. Like i just don't know how to act lol"
Troubled Parents
"An absentee father that ran guns and a mom that was into druid religious bullsh*t and had no time. Plus abject poverty. I get it. My wife has a wonderful connection with her entire family. The last cousin I blocked asked me for another 'loan.'"
– xynix_ie
The Wrong Christmas Color
"When my ex sister-in-law broke into my house and started painting my living room while I was at work. Apparently, she didn't like the colour and that would just ruin her Christmas."
"Yup. She also used to break in and wear my clothes, sell my things without permission, give me veiled insults in front of people, demand money, talk bad behind everyone's back, lie about being abused, scam charities for struggling mothers for money/gifts, tell people her son was autistic when he isn't, claim to be illiterate/learning disabled for benefits, claim she was a genius (she dropped out of grade 9 and was the dumbest person I have ever met. I know education does not equal intelligence but she was f'king dumb. Cunning and manipulative, but dumb.), paint her partner as an abusive scumbag to people, and have outbursts when she doesn't get her way. She also stole my ex's inheritance. She asked me if I had any clothes for her pregnant friend when I was very underweight due to anorexia. When she was a kid, she would lock herself in the bathroom to give herself bruises that she would blame on her brothers. For fun."
"I spent six years putting up with her antics and would get, "BuT ShE's mY sIsTeR" whenever I got upset. I have about, let's see, eight million stories."
"She was a narcissist, what can I say?"
"ETA story."
The Devil's Spawn
"When my overly religious grandma tried to defend her blatant favoritism of my older sister by telling me that I was 'born evil.'"
child devil GIFGiphyThe Taboo Subject
"When I found out a lot of my family members are child predator's and everyone knows but no ones talks about it."
An Enabling Mother
"The day I joined a specialty school and was informed that it was not, in fact, normal for my father and brother to relentlessly mock me for my Autism."
"Literally spent 15 years being called horrid things and being patronized for my interests, and I legitimately thought that was just what male family members did, because my mother would never stop them."
– Circecil
Traumatic Childhood
"7 years old. My dad hadn't been home for three days. My mom put us kids in the car and drove to every bar in town until she saw my dad's truck. Then she told me to go into the bar, look for my dad and tell him to come home. I refused, so she sent my 4 year old brother in."
"One year later on a family trip I couldn't find my brother. The bathroom door of the house we were staying at was locked for a really long time. I had a bad feeling about it so I just stood outside the door. Eventually my little brother and uncle came out of the bathroom. I asked what was going on and my uncle kept saying, 'nothing. Everything's fine. Everything's fine.'"
"Having been indoctrinated the previous school year about the dangers of child molesters, I dragged my brother away and asked my brother if my uncle had touched his penis. My brother said yes. I dragged him to my mother and told her. I could feel that the rest of the vacation was tense, but I have no idea what my parents did about it if anything. That same year my uncle went to prison for molesting boys in our town. He's still in prison today. For years as a child my mother made me and my brother go to the prison on visitation days and spend time with that uncle."
"I realized my parents would never protect me."
Temper, Temper
"I always thought my family was normal, it was just big and loud and everyone had tempers. Then I told someone a funny story involving my little sister throwing a loaf of bread at my mom... the look on their face told me not to stop there and not get to the part where she threatened to burn down the house with all of us in it."
Depression Is "Rude And Inconvenient"
"When my mom yelled at me for being depressed. She was saying how rude and inconvenient it is for everyone around me that I was depressed. She was screaming so hard that her face was all red. She screamed at me frequently. She would always wait until I was in the car with her because I would be unable to leave. I stopped talking to her after that and she played the victim."
"She apparently was suffering because she was 'abandoned by her daughter.' No one in my family wanted to hear my side of things, no one reached out to check in on me. I was made out to be th bad selfish daughter. Now, I don't have a relationship with anyone in my family. I cut both my parents off after I realized they both will not change or get help or see they ever did anything wrong. It's been tough to deal with the emotions of it all, especially the emotions I felt when I was younger and in their care. I've been working on it with therapy for a few years now. But it's been a necessary decision for me to cut those ties. So I can focus on myself and my growth and healing the parts of me that have been broken from my past."
"Be Mean"
"I was 9 and I was really nice to poor guy selling shirts out of the back of his truck. My dad pulled me away and told me directly 'it's great to be nice to people, Chris, but be mean too. You want people to be a little scared of you.'"
"Even at 9 I was like 'bruh that's not... Great' and it really was an interaction that shaped our relationship. I went on to teach, have a vibrant friend group (every year a dozen of us meet up for new years and were in the 10th year this year!), and generally I love people. It's in my work and in every fibre of my life."
"He... Died alone of an overdose about 10 years ago. The funeral would've been basically empty if not for all the friends who came to console me."
The people who love you the most can break your heart because of their betrayal of trust.
Cheating is cowardly and inexcusable, but depending on the situation and the couple, it is possible for them to find a path to healing emotional wounds.
But there are some ways in which infidelity is totally unforgivable.
That's the kind of scenario Redditor WCh3L3 was curious to hear about when they asked:
"What’s the wildest cheating story you’ve witnessed or happened to you?"
It must be exhausting leading double lives.
Hospital News
"A friend of a friend found out that her husband was cheating when she got to the hospital to see her husband who had just moments before been brought in by ambulance after a serious car accident only to be denied entry to his room because 'his wife was already in the room with him.'"
"He had two simultaneous lives with two women, neither of which was aware of the other."
– JeBronlLames
The Ruse
"My ex-wife pretended to be admitted to a mental health ward for long term treatment while actually staying with her new man and cheating on me."
– Impossible-Visit-199
"This one is just next level."
– most-royal-chemist
"That’s some Batman villain level of intrigue and machination. His wife missed her calling and wasted her abilities on sleeping around."
– filifijonka
A Separate Life
"My friend's mom was in a relationship with a guy for years and they ended up getting engaged and due to marry."
"The guy was a senior director of a company for which he travelled every week abroad for business."
"Eventually, the guy had a heart attack and when my friends mom turned up at the hospital, his wife and 2 kids were there also."
"Turned out he was already married with children and living a double life the whole time. When he went 'abroad' for business, he was simply going back to his actual family."
– wallbagz
Here's The Story
"My dad did this. He worked nights and would juggle both families that way."
"He came clean after he got admitted to hospital for heart trouble and realised that if things went badly he’d end up in this exact situation."
"I was 16 when he came clean that I have an older brother and sister. They found out about me then too - as did his wife."
"ETA: I’d actually already figured it out before he told me though. Nobody else had."
"EATA: I saw a preview of a text on my dad’s phone from my sister. I didn’t know she was my sister obviously, but it said ‘hi dad, mum says…’"
"At first I was in denial and I thought his friend must have borrowed his phone or something. I started to watch him more closely."
"He had a ringtone (lol the 00’s) that would say the name of the caller. I noticed whenever a certain name rang he’d leave the room. Some tactical eavesdropping later and 15 year old me had it figured out that I had a brother and sister."
"I didn’t clock I had a stepmother though, or that I was family no2 and they were his primary family. But I still think I did pretty well!"
"My whole family on my mum’s side knew - mum respected that it was my dad’s secret to tell and she gave him time to tell it. (Although they did have a few arguments about it as I was growing up, I never knew what they were about at the time.)"
– notemily-
Life is never the same once the truth comes out.
Shameless
"A family friend's husband was having an affair for 20+ years and that woman knew the entire time about his family. He was at her ranch one time and was bucked off a horse and broke his back. The affair partner called his wife to tell her and acted like everything about this situation was normal and the wife had no reason to act all upset at the affair. Some people really just have no shame."
"Guy lived and made a complete recovery, left his mistress and they stayed together since they were working on their relationship. He died a few years ago and the wife finds out he never actually left his mistress just lied."
– SailoLee92
Unilateral Decision
"In a small town the husband kept telling people he had an open marriage; finally someone asked his wife about it, she was unaware of this new arrangement."
– Long_Strange_Trip_GD
Rehab Romance
"Was in rehab, two people were there for sex addiction one a minister the other a Jewish housewife. They left rehab together early. Woman divorced her husband who sent her to rehab for sex addiction and married the guy she met in rehab. They are still married 10 years later and seem very happy."
– Life-Evidence-6672
On The Case
"I knew a guy years ago that was a private investigator. Many times he was approached by a spouse who suspected their partner was cheating."
"He had a slam-dunk strategy. He would suggest his client sign up for a course, whether a hobby thing, or educational. The key was that the class would happen for a period of weeks, all on the same day of the week, and all at the same time of day."
"Then, while his client was in class, he would follow the spouse."
"Caught them every time."
– PJMurphy
If you have a hunch about an unfaithful significant other, it's there for a reason.
Going For A Run
"Had a coworker who cheated on her live-in boyfriend. She would tell him she was going for a run, put on her shorts without underwear and would f'k her side piece in the apartment parking lot. So then she would come back inside sweaty 30 mins later and needed to shower and it all made sense to her boyfriend, he never questioned it. She was an awful human."
– rashawah
It Made Scents
"A friend caught her husband cheating because he kept coming home smelling like ferrets."
"Hard to play off 'long day at work' and explain that."
"When she found out at a holiday party that one of the young female coworkers owned ferrets, it all made sense."
– benloe7
Special Delivery
"I used to go to a comic shop. And the comic shop owner knew all of the gossip in the area. Nice dude. Remembers all of his regulars and asks about you if he hasn’t seen you in awhile to check in on people. Lot of people in the area grew up with his shop. So he’s got stories."
"Anyways he told us about this story from some years back about this regular. Who disappeared for a few months. Comes back one day. And the shop owner asks him, 'hey, man. Haven’t seen you in awhile?' Kind of like where have you been. The regular was like oh I’ve been getting divorced. I had to move it was a whole thing."
"So naturally the shop owner asks. 'Why are you divorcing your wife?' The regular caught his wife cheating."
"He had picked up a 2nd part time job as pizza delivery man because he was trying to fund to take his wife on her dream vacation. All of the money he earned from that job was supposed to go into that vacation. He had been working this job for like 6 months. It was a whole secret. She didn’t know he was doing that for her. Because he was trying to surprise her."
"He was the pizza delivery man at the motel. She was cheating at him with. The dude she was cheating on him with answered the door with her right next to him."
"He apparently didn’t even go back to the pizza place. He quit on the spot. Went home. Packed his sh*t and left town."
– TheMysticalPlatypus
Those who are unfaithful in their relationships may think they're good enough for more than one person, but they're usually not.
And while you may not believe in it, there's something called karma, and watching it enact justice can be extremely gratifying.
If you were the one being cheated on, know that the person with whom you've fallen in love is not the kind of person you want to spend the rest of your life with and there will always be a better human who will respect you and love you.
And if you were the cheater, watch your back. Because whether you believe in it or not, karma's coming for ya.
Food trends are not so very different from fashion trends, constantly evolving and quickly becoming outdated or passé.
Can you think of the last time you were served ambrosia at a dinner party?
Or have you noticed how anything featuring kale is now met with an eye roll rather than excitement?
Of course, some food trends tend to last longer than others.
Even if many people wish that they would also become extinct... the sooner the better!
Redditor Prestigious-Humor872 was eager to hear all the food trends people wished would die out, and fast, leading them to ask:
"What modern food trend can you not wait to die?"
Less Isn't Always More...
"2 ingredient desserts (with 7 'optional' ingredients that appear once you read the actual recipe)."- strawberry-emma
You Pay For The Experience
"Food trucks that charge the same price as a premium restaurant but serve half the size on a floppy plate that I have to stand up to eat."- thorn_10
"Food trucks."
"Weren’t they supposed to serve cheaper food because of lower overhead?"
"No brick and mortar?"
"We have a lobster roll truck-pulled by a Range Rover- that shows up for lunch and charges $22 for one entree."
"Ridiculous."- tizzymyers·
GiphyChoice Of Words...
"Calling a slight alteration to a recipe a 'hack'."
"Adding parmesan cheese to your grilled cheese sandwich is not a 'hack'."
"It's a minor recipe change."- No_Pear_2326
Jumping The Gun A Bit...
"If I'm on a website I'm only there to look at your menu."
"I'm not interested in starting an order before I've looked at the menu."
"No, I don't want to give you my zip code."
"Just give me your menu and some food pictures."- DueRest
Staying Humble?
"Fancy restaurants that say they serve 'street tacos' and proceed to charge $18 for three."- Chipwich75
T-Bell Yes GIF by Taco BellGiphyThere's A Reason We're Told Not To Play With Our Food...
"The stupid food wasting trends on YouTube and TikTok etc."- fluffernuttersndwch
Presentation Is Key...
"For some reason putting food in wine glasses."- Ralphroberts603
"Restaurants serving food on cutting boards, shovels, paper, shells, or anything that is not an actual plate."- Funny_Disaster1002
meat grill GIF by Gifs LabGiphyRemember The Golden Arches And The Red Roofs?
"Making all fast food buildings look like cookie-cutter beige/grey boxes."
"They all used to have their own distinct personalities."- mattnotis
There's Economizing, And Then There's Jusy Poor Hygeine...
"The videos of people making food in sinks."
"Gross."- h20rabbit
Is It Even Still A Secret After 100 Thousand Views?
"Any TikTok/IG trend that makes life more difficult for fast-food workers with overly complex orders or ordering stuff not on the menu or trying to 'one up' each others orders etc."- HiThisIsMichael
bored fast food GIF by Zaxby'sGiphyMaybe It Gives Them Incentive?
"Tipping as an option BEFORE receiving good service."- mytimeis2044
Sweet Tooth? Or Cavity Express?
"Sweets on top of sweets."
"A milkshake with a donut, lollipop, and cupcake attached."- Marleygem
Technology Slowly Taking Our Jobs...
"I just went to a restaurant, not a fast food place, a sit-down restaurant where you have to scan the QR code for the menu, then a screen pops up where you have to place your own order."
"No one comes to the table to answer questions, nothing."
"You place your order, a person comes by and throws your drinks at you. "
"Then they swing by a while later and throw your food at you."
"That’s all you see of them."
"You pay your bill on your phone, and are still expected to tip."- Megmuffin102
Saint Urbain Website GIF by Front of HouseGiphyBe it in presentation, cooking style, or flavor profile, people will likely always try to make food "cool" in truly bizarre ways.
Sometimes ignoring that the only thing that should truly matter is whether or not it tastes good.
At least people have finally realized that kale doesn't need to be added to everything!
For now, at least...
When discussing love and relationships, the motto is usually less is more.
But what if there is more of one partner?
Being involved with identical twins can be quite the experience.
Can you really tell them apart?
Is everything identical?
If you're attracted to one, aren't you automatically attracted to the other?
So many questions.
Now we need some answers.
Redditor nicknamesofdaveryder wanted to hear about love and the twin experience, so they asked:
"Redditors who married someone with an identical twin sibling, why are you glad you're not with the other twin instead?"
I've never met a lot of twins, let alone gotten involved with a pair.
I have questions.
Hopefully I get some answers.
Saved
Comedy Central Wink GIF by Drunk HistoryGiphy"My late husband's twin was a non-functioning alcoholic and my husband wasn’t. My husband says joining the navy was what saved him from going down that road."
iteachag5
Falling Asleep
"Story time! I am an identical twin (we still look so much alike!) and one night I spent the night at her house. She and I fell asleep in the same bed because we were up late talking, etc. Her husband slept on the couch. The next morning my twin went to take a shower and her husband laid down on the bed with me (thinking it was her of course). I jokingly said 'Hey sailor, looking for a little variety?' He shot off the bed and said 'If I was looking for variety, do you think I'd choose you??'"
tanyagal2
The Good Guy And The Other One
"I didn't marry him but I dated an identical twin. His twin's girlfriend and I used to joke around that she got the evil twin. He was just a selfish, messed-up person. One of the benefits of breaking up with my boyfriend was no longer having his twin in my life. Plus, his ex gf and I are still great friends! The good guy was just the lesser evil. She wanted to get as far away from that family as I did. The best thing to come out of those relationships was our friendship."
super-ro
Love Wins
"My dad's an identical twin. People have a hard time distinguishing them, but to my mom and me, they look like two completely different people because of the way they walk/talk/etc. Obviously, my mom only fell in love with this one person. When you love someone it's actually pretty easy to tell identical twins apart."
michaelsgavin
Issues
Threaten Ashley Olsen GIFGiphy"The other twin has the same personality as I do. We argue readily and are super competitive with each other. We butt heads on a lot of issues."
why_not_send_a_nude
Personality clashes aren't just a twin thing.
It's a human thing.
We can't help ourselves.
Different People
Triplets GIF by RuPaul's Drag RaceGiphy"I work with a guy who married an identical triplet, one of the triplets also works with us. I asked him one day if it was weird working with someone who looked just like his wife. He got a little pissed and basically said they are all very different people and he doesn't see much of his wife in her."
LeafMeAlone_99
He's Evil
"We’re not married but known each other since we were 12 and have been together 3 and a half years. His twin is a massive di**head who tried to break us up multiple times, was madly in love with me in his own words, and after 2 years of pursuing me declared I was a terrible person and put him through hell. Because I didn’t break up with his TWIN BROTHER to date him."
xMollyP
Life Choices
"My husband and his twin brother look very different to me, although they are identical and get mistaken for one another all the time. They couldn’t be more different in terms of personality. They have different values and life goals, hobbies, one is introverted and the other is extroverted. If they were two people who didn’t look alike, I would automatically not be attracted to my brother-in-law simply because we are not remotely compatible personality-wise."
"Also they have very different styles. I do not find the way my husband’s twin dresses/grooms his hair attractive. It’s so wild to me when people can’t tell them apart because they couldn’t be more different in my eyes."
lanieeeeeeee
Opposites
"Well, my wife and I have been together for 30 years. She has a 'mirror' twin. Even now, if you don’t know them well or interact frequently you will not be able to tell them apart. They are complete opposites. I married the extrovert, she has never met a stranger, will try anything at least once, and can find a positive aspect in almost everything she encounters, they are also best friends, my wife drags her sister along all the time."
"Once she’s out she enjoys our activities. I love my SIL, all three of them, but so glad I married the one like me. The mirror part even goes for looks, when I see my wife’s reflection I see my SIL, it’s weird sometimes. Also, attitude and personality are everything, I have never been 'attracted' to her twin."
redbonecouchhound
The Look
Sexy Damon Wayans Jr GIF by Global TVGiphy"I used to date an identical twin. Although I found his brother objectively handsome, I wasn't attracted to him at all. It was cool to directly experience how attraction goes far beyond just the looks."
Liatessa
I've never been intrigued by twins, and now I never will be.