Redditor em0gril wanted to hear about the worst things people have ever said to be mean. So they asked:
"What is the most hurtful thing someone said to you?"
Thanks Mom...
Tyler Perry GIF by NickelodeonGiphy"'I don't know what is so special about you.' -My mother after seeing my kids get excited that I was home from work."
Legitimate_Story_333
Gloomy
"My mom, who was always emotionally abusive, get especially bad when I started dating my now husband. This included her telling me she hates me. After months of being her emotional punching bag, my depression was also not doing awesome."
"She got on meds, never apologized, never acknowledged what she said and did. I’d recently lost my job and she said my depression was bringing her down and I should move out. Haven’t spoken to her in years and don’t miss her."
UnihornWhale
No Comps?
"I worked really hard in high school in theatre (still very happy in it over 20 years later). I was accepted to every school I applied and through a donation my high awarded me a scholarship."
"In the glow of pride of this unexpected gift, my mother said in front of everyone 'I can't believe they wasted their money on you.'"
"Guess who DOESN'T get comps to my shows."
azorianmilk
Arrangements
"My daughter died at birth and I almost did too. My father told me that my stepmother was 'Really taking it hard and feels like she doesn’t have a purpose anymore/nothing to live for' because we had planned for her to babysit. She also asked me when I was hospitalized if she can have some of my daughter's ashes for herself. Keep in mind we were never close and I never even lived there."
"I was still extremely sick post-birth and never got to go to the funeral home for arrangements so my dad did. He told me a few years later when I got a potter to make her an urn 'I hope you aren’t getting rid of the one I picked out because I spent a lot of money on it.' My sister also THINKS she had a miscarriage at some point very very early on when she was a teen and told me after I lost my daughter that she has been through worse."
_Jordy_C_
Ruined
"You won't ruin my new family."
"My mom to 13ish-year-old me."
"Jokes on her, she ruined it herself."
plz2meatyu
These are the reasons therapy was invented.
For Me
Frustrated Skip Bayless GIFGiphy"My mom told me when I was 5 that I was not wanted. Now it took me 15 years to actually stop trying to please and finally live for myself."
Leather-Spite-556
Look at Me
"When my father looked at me and said he was glad I knew that I wasn't his, and he didn't have to be my Dad anymore. My mom was a habitual cheater. She had an affair with my Dad's sister's husband (my non-bio Uncle on my Dad's side). If you like the stars up on paper, I was my Uncle's kid."
"When I was a little kid, he was decent to me. When my sister was born 7 years later, her s**t didn't stink, and I had better not breathe wrong. When I told him, I knew the family's little secret. He was glad to be rid of me. He died 6 years later from a heart issue. Out of curiosity, I did a DNA test, and my sister did one too. Turns out I, in fact, was my father's son and my sister, his best friend's kid."
Traditional_Crew6617
Zero Behavior
"I’ve commented on this before but someone once said to me/about my wife that 'It sucks her dad died [last week of a sudden massive heart attack but that doesn’t give her an excuse for her behavior.]' The problem was, the statement was totally untrue. There was zero 'behavior.' The person was literally just being a cold-hearted b*tch because they took a disliking to my wife, who was only ever perfectly kind to the cold-hearted *itch."
"I excused a lot of shi**y behavior toward myself and others from that POS but this was the last straw. To not even be able to fake a decent human interaction toward someone the very week their father dies a horrific, untimely death really speaks to the kind of garbage heap of a human I was dealing with."
Straight-Two1164
Happy 50th!!
"My father told me that I would never live to the age of 50 because I was overweight. He went as far as to leave my brother and sister his estate in the will, but I was only left a small amount of money that I would only be eligible to collect after my 50th birthday. He was one of the most cruel people I have ever met in my life."
GiacintoD
24
"I was 18 when my sister (24) died suddenly of an aneurysm. For weeks after I was told SO many different iterations of 'It's all in God's plan/everything happens for a reason' that that was the start of my break from my own faith and losing my religion. I cannot imagine saying something like that to someone who just lost a sibling. I have a visceral reaction to that phrase to this day, and it was 24 years ago next month."
heyitsthatoneguy81
Wishes
Magic Carpet Genie GIF by DisneyGiphy"My dad once was angry at me and said that he wished I were an abortion. I knew even back then that he didn't mean it, yet sometimes decades later, it still stings."
MagnoliaTree3
The cruelty of parents is the worst.
We really need to watch how we speak.
Liars are not the kind of company we seek to keep.
But bad liars can be entertaining enough to have around long enough to expose them.
"Oh yeah, I saw that too," he said, as a self-invite.
When asked what parts he liked about the movie, he described all the snippets that were shown in the trailer. He couldn't for the life of him recall specific details about key plot points and consequently told us to screw off.
Plot twist: the pathetic liar trying to fit in was meeeee.
Curious about strangers who had been hoodwinked, Redditor KlingyYT asked:
"What is the most obvious lie you have ever been told?"
The Smashed Omega
"My first watch was an omega and I saved up on high school to get it. One of my good friends back then asked to wear it for 1 period and would give it back at lunch. He begged and begged so as a hs kid I gave in or couldn't keep saying no I guess, weak on me, obviously.
Well, He smashed it (apparently smashed the glass to test it) gave it back and said it was a fake and that's why the glass cracked and said he didn't do it and it just fell apart. A**hole became a medical doctor and is now involved in politics and holds state office. I'm still pissed about the watch he never admitted he broke cuz he was salty and jealous."
Same Backstory
"When a co-worker told my own story back to me as his own. Twice."
"I had a friend do this once, he was hanging out with a large group of my friends that he hardly knew and my best friend (still my best friend too) just went 'wow it's so crazy you had ver-betim the exact same childhood story that Jason has told us all before, right down to the small town in Kansas where it happened' and the color drained straight out of his face. Didn't say a word to me for like 3 days. Dude turned out to be a pathological liar on many levels, very strange to think how I spent 4 years of high school with someone lying straight to my face constantly and didn't realize it until that moment."
Je Ne Comprends Pas Français
"I speak French, though I'm losing it from lack of use. But one of my college guy friends started dating a girl 'from France.' He was all excited because she could talk to me in her native language and I could help translate. So he brought her to a party at my sorority house and introduced us."
"I greeted her in French with a very simple, 'bonjour, bienvenue, comment ça va' which is just hi, welcome, how are you."
"Blank stare and red face in response. She then said, in what I thought was a kind of strange accent, that she's sorry, she didn't understand me. I looked at the guy and said 'I thought you told me she was French?' Because maybe she was a different nationality and he was confused."
"He looked at her and she just turned and left. He followed then returned a bit later and said he had caught up to her and she started screaming at him in perfect Midwestern accented English that he was a jerk for setting her up to look like a fool."
"He had genuinely been excited that he could introduce her to someone she could talk to so he was blown away by her accusations and then angry that she lied. She apparently felt faking an accent would make her more appealing or something."
"I would see her around on campus after that but she avoided me like the plague. TBH, I felt bad for her, but if you're going to fake it, at least pick a country with a language you can speak."
Solo Artist
"When I was a kid, the internet wasn't a thing so, my friends were whoever happened to live in the neighborhood. One kid was a well-known liar and exaggerator. We were maybe 14 years old at this time."
"This kid could play guitar and was always talking himself up about it and talking about 'his band.' He actually could play, but 'his band' did not exist."
"One day, I called him at his house, from my house. I don't remember what it was about, but a few minutes into the conversation, told me, 'by the way, I'm in Florida with my band', just out of the blue. This was before even pagers were a common thing. I called him. At his house."
"I just said something like , 'uh huh. Ok.' and ended the conversation. I then proceeded to tell all the other kids in the neighborhood."
Going Nowhere Fast
"My friend told me that getting a Peloton changed her life. I looked up her workout stats & she had used it 4 times in 5 months of owning it. Her husband fared a little better with using it 9 times."
"Don't know why this annoyed me so much."
Shopping For Sympathy
"My little girl told everyone in the supermarket that our cat died and she was sad. We don't own a cat."
Please Don't Quit
"We cannot give you a raise right now, but we will compensate you as soon as the budget allows".
"Turns out 'when the budget allows' is 'when you already have another job offer and put in your two weeks notice.'"
Does Not Compute
"As a tax accountant, I'm told lies about how much money people actually made all the time during tax season."
"My favorite was a guy telling me he's broke because he only makes $35,000/year in NYC so my (very reasonable) fee is too much for him. He says this after he asks me if he can deduct the new BMW 5 series he just bought his son all cash."
Oh, Gullible One
"My brother told me I was a dragon and I totally believed him. Man I was a dumb kid, but now I'm a dumb Adult."
Recipe For Disaster
"When my little brother mixed like 50 condiments, including sprinkles, ketchup, cereal n stuff, into a bag of popcorn an ate it telling us it was delicious when his face looked like hed just ate 10 extremely sour warheads at once. He later admitted he just wanted us to eat it but we never did."
Shady Dealer
"I was picking up a sofa from a guy I found on Kijiji and he stopped me right before leaving to see if I wanted to buy a mirror he was also looking to get rid of. I wasn't really interested but my wife seemed keen so we stopped in the hallway to check it out. He said 'It was a gift from my son in law. It's a beautiful mid-century antique. I'll let it go for $75.' He went on about what an amazing mirror it was and even told me 'pick it up and feel how sturdy it is!'. I picked it up (it was really heavy actually) and took a peek at the back and saw a sticker from Value Village with a $30 price tag. I kinda chuckled to myself and asked if he would go any lower than $75. He said 'I really couldn't'. Then I said 'Well, I can see a tag from Value Village on the back here...' We ended up getting the 'mid-century antique' mirror for $15 and me and my wife still laugh about the amazing deal we got on it."
– Draculad
"The Accident"
"My ex told me he was in a car accident, totaled his car, broke a few ribs. (He was trying to get sympathy so i would get back together with him.) Blaming the accident on me, since he was 'Distracted' after the break up."
"He sent me a photo of his car smashed in, i google searched it. First pic of his make/model that was wrecked. He formulated the story after the picture."
"But here's the deal, the wheels didn't match. So i drove by his house that evening, car was fixed and in his driveway. 'Oh yes, i paid the shop extra to get me in today. So i could have my car to come see you if you wanted me to.....'
"HAHAHA bro."
Underwear Thieves
"My son takes every opportunity to get naked. It's a struggle to get him to even wear underpants half the time."
"We found him sat around naked one time and asked him where his pants had gone."
"Bees. Bees came in through the window and stole his pants."
"Lying little sh*t - Everyone knows that's its gnomes who steal underwear."
– metans
OK so ... the educational system could use some work, but surely it's not to the point where teachers are outright lying to, gaslighting, or abusing their students, right?
One Reddit user asked:
What is the biggest lie a teacher has told you?
... and yeah... we should probably sit down and have a few conferences.
Them Snowballs
2nd grade. Writing assignment on how to build a snowman. One of my instructions I wrote said "now put the snowballs on top of one another, building a tower."
Teacher said "no, it's THEM snowballs. Change it now."
After arguing (and getting detention out of it) I changed it to say "now put them snowballs on top of one another blah blah" and we displayed our instructions out in the hall so the next PTA meeting could view them.
My mom later pointed out the grammatical error in my instructions. My teacher said "aren't kids just the darndest? How cute when they make mistakes"
F*ck you. I'm still angry about it 22 years later.
- MG_72
Honesty Always Pays Off
"You can tell me everything if you have any problem, I won't tell anyone".
I was being bullied all the time in my school. When I told him about this problem, he brought it up at the class meeting.
It resulted in severe escalation and my bullies basically forced me to tell him that the problem is solved now. He smiled at me and told me that honesty and being open always pays off.
No, a**hole. It doesn't.
Financial Aid Exists?!
paid pay day GIFGiphy"If you can't afford to pay cash for college, you can't afford to go."
This was in the early 90's and no one in my family had ever been to college, so I didn't have anyone outside of that environment to talk to. I had a 2 year full ride scholarship, but I didn't think I could afford the rest.
They never once mentioned financial aid or student loans. I was poor military kid going to a wealthy high school, so I didn't know any better.
10 years in the military later, I found out about pell grants, student loans, and other ways to pay for school. My life would have been much different if I went straight to college.
Legally Obligated
After telling my guidance counselor about my abusive home situation, hoping that enough of a fuss could be made for the cops to actually do something, she just contacted my parents rather than the authorities.
She told them what I said, and then acted like we'd never spoken when I disappeared for a week and came back with several "ran into a doorknob" injuries.
That was pretty much my par experience for all the adults who repeatedly said they had open doors, always listened, would help, cared, etc.
Being legally obligated to do something doesn't mean people will do it.
My Naive Response
Can I post something I said to students? Back in January students asked me if the coronavirus would sweep through the U.S and shut us down.
I told them we would be okay because we've had scares like this with the swine flu and others and always came out okay. I am really eating my words now and regretting how naive my response was.
Then Why Do We Have Them?
Remember the book lists you'd get at the start of the school year for each class? Sometimes they'd have things like safety glasses for chemistry, a calculator for maths etc.
My computer class list specifically listed a particular brand and model of headphones, so we all got them. Then the teacher running the class denied ever putting them on there and questioned why we were using them.
"I didn't put those headphones on the stationery list at the start of the year, you can't use them."
Then why do thirty students have exactly the same f*cking set of janky budget headphones Marie? She was a miserable old cow.
- rawker86
Not Comparable
asian american mic GIFGiphyJapanese internment camps during WW2
My history teacher spent so much time on the Holocaust but never even once mentioned that the US did this to Japanese people. I swear I was nearly 30 before I found out about this, and I'm still mad about it.
In 2025 Capitalism Will Save Us All
In high school I had to take an economics class to graduate. The whole class was just propaganda.
We were told how capitalism is a perfect system that will never fail. We had to write essays on how, by 2025, the "economic dips" would level out and everyone would have a fair chance at wealth and financial stability.
What bull.
- CillRed
P.E. Punishment
Teachers say that they'll listen to you, but that's a lie.
It was P.E. I was unable to participate for a week - I even had the doctors note.
The note stated I was free to continue on Friday. I was sitting in my spot and the teacher said "Allie get up and get on the bench now."
I reminded her my doctors note said I could continue Friday. She refused to listen or go double check it and said:
"Stop lying. You just want to have fun since today is playground day. If you were sick then, you're sick now."
She wouldn't let me participate and I had been excited waiting till I could.
Decadence
10th grade, Advanced English.
"Decadent/decadence," was a word we were learning, along with some others for vocabulary.
We were instructed to use them all in a short story or write-up, essentially to ensure we understood the concepts of the words. I only remember this one word from the vocab, but they were all themed similarly.
I wrote a story about decadence a la the late 1920/30s... lavish parties, flowing champagne, chocolate and pearls, etc... it was dumb but it was all I could come up with in the moment. Think a speakeasy meets The Great Gatsby but in a Hooverville.
She argued incessantly that decadence ONLY meant decay. I understood her logic, but argued back that decadence typically meant the decay of society or social norms (like over the top parties by the social elite during the Great Depression). I even argued that the concept was utilized as a marketing scheme in most commercials... chocolate, alcohol, lingerie, perfume, etc...
She refused my answer. No, it only means decay in regards to death or decline of a space. She then continued to belittle me until I stopped (I rarely spoke out in school, so I was wildly embarrassed) and essentially made an example out of me. The rest of my class was filled with the top level students of my grade. I was the outcast, because I was the smart kid from the poor neighborhood. Most of the class ignored me after that and were uncomfortable with the idea that I had argued with an authority figure.
The teacher was wrong (or well, her definition was correct, as was mine).
Here's the definition of decadence, per Merriam-Webster:
1: the process of becoming decadent : the quality or state of being decadent...
"the decadence of modern society escape the decadence that attends upon old age"— G. L. Dickinson
2: a period of decline
... I still seethe with resentment nearly 20 years later. Not because she told me I was wrong, but because she was so cruel about wanting to be correct. Thankfully, I was confident in my understanding of definitions and words. I knew she was wrong, and let it go, but I feel bad for the struggling kids she taught.
Sun Showers Are A Thing
First grade. She got mad at me for drawing a picture of a rainy Spring day, with the sun behind the clouds. Pretty much told me it was impossible for the sun to be out while it was raining.
Now, almost 16 years later, I still remember that incident whenever it rains at the same time the sun is shining.
- m-xxv
CCTV Stupidity
The big one I remember is the during a full school assembly one Friday the headteacher said that he'd fitted CCTV in an area where the smokers of the school would congregate. If they came to his office after assembly and admitted they'd been smoking there, they wouldn't be punished, but he was going to check the footage next week and anyone who didn't admit it would be suspended.
The following Friday the smug prick got up and laughed at the few people who had been stupid enough to believe him and came to his office, actually straight out calling them stupid.
These are the people who he's supposed to be educating.
Then Why Did He Sign The Declaration
benjamin franklin crying GIFGiphyMy 8th grade US HISTORY teacher told our class Benjamin Franklin was the best president ever. she was dead on serious. She argued with the class for a bit and told us
"If he wasn't a President, why did he sign the Declaration of Independence?"
the class simply told her to go look at the poster where the Presidents were listed.....
she apologized.
- kngyng
My Orientation Mug
I had a travel mug that I got from student orientation. I filled it with coffee and went to school.
I later forgot the cup in art while I went to lunch, so I decided to get it after lunch. I went back and couldn't find it.
A day later the teacher is drinking HER OWN coffee in MY cup. I tell her "I think you have my cup, Mrs. teacher"
She got defensive and told me she got the cup from a conference meeting. I watched her drink out of it through the whoooole year.
I know it was my cup because I wrote my initials on it in sharpie and I saw duct tape covering over where the Initials should be.
Tastebud Mapping
That certain parts of the tongue have different taste abilities. That is absolutely a myth.
I even almost failed a class because of it. My palette was very well developed, apparently, and I was certain I could taste everything the same on different parts of my tongue.
My teacher made me out to be a liar, scolded me in front of the whole class (was 12 at the time) and I got punished for arguing.
Look who's a jack@ss now mr Griffin!
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Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not out here advocating for lying our faces off - but there are some situations where the truth just isn't necessarily the kindest, safest, or most productive route.
Don't believe me? I'll prove it with the help of everyone's favorite website, Reddit. Reddit user tinythunder15 asked:
When is lying better than being honest?
The responses were full of situations that some of us may never even have imagined, some of which we hope to never find ourselves in. Take a look, but brace. Some of this got really, really sad.
No Need To Relive It
"When the patient with dementia asks you, again, where their deceased spouse/child/other very important person in their life is."
"Telling the truth only makes them relive the horror and despair of finding out that that person has passed away all over again."
"I worked with a guy who had dementia and killed his wife. He was in an inpatient psychiatric facility that was locked and secured. He couldn't remember anything for more than 20 minutes. He would regularly ask us why his wife wasn't coming to visit him. One time his son told him out of spite and he flew into a self destructive depressive rage."
"Half hour later the guy didn't understand why his knuckles were bruised and sore and why the wall was bloodied. He seemed like a really nice guy and had created this persona that he was a loving husband who would do anything for his wife, wrote her three love letters a day, and wanted to help others. It's almost like he forget he was this jealous monster who killed his wife when she tried to divorce him."
"In either event, we just stopped telling him. We would say "Maybe tomorrow" knowing that he wouldn't remember asking us by lunch, let alone tomorrow."
"Does telling someone the truth and dropping crushing news on them making them come to the realization that their world is a lie and they killed the person they loved the most 5-6 times a day when they can't do anything about it or change who they are through introspection really benefit anyone?"
"I can think of instances where I was genuinely ok with lying - and they all focused around caring with people with memory issues. Sometimes it was about granddad being dead, other times it was about forgetting to do mundane stuff that didn't really matter. For example if they asked around naptime: "Did I start the laundry?" I would just say yes, then go see if the laundry is started once she's asleep, and if not, I would start it."
"Sometimes people with those issues ask if they're a burden, or if you're ok. You tell them they're not a burden, and you're ok... because I mean, wtf else are you gonna say? "It's hard, and yes, it's a burden, but you're family, and you couldn't stop me from caring for ya if you tried." They wouldn't understand and it would make them feel guilty."
I wasn't ok, but I always told her I was doing fine. Sometime grandmom was a proper wench to me towards the end (dementia sucks), but when she was having lucid moments and asked about how she was doing at other times, I told her she was fine and generally just sleepy. There was no point in making her feel bad over something she can't control."
""So... generally, when people are in their sunset years I'm fine with lying for kindness. I'm not necessarily gonna say what's "better" because it isn't on me to judge you; but I'll say that I understand people in those situations are all just doing the best they can, and I don't fault people either for lying, or for telling a harsh truth every once in a while."
Only The "Mentally Strong"
"Interviews. I was asked so what have you been doing the past year because it had been over a year since my graduation. I, like an idiot, answered honestly and replied that I was in a depression, but now I'm fine."
"So when the the roll call came for the name of selected candidates the first thing the person who was announcing said that they needed "mentally strong" people. Okay, then."
The Ambulance Lie
"Telling someone in the ambulance that they're going to live."
"I have a friend who is an ambo. He tells patients he's never had someone die in his ambulance... which is technically true. Because they refuse to declare someone dead in the truck, because otherwise they have to drive to the morgue and fill out a bunch of paperwork. Instead, they continue to administer CPR until they get to the hospital and let the on duty doctor declare the time of death. That way the body is the hospitals problem and not theirs."
"I was looking into becoming an EMT a few years ago. They taught us never to tell a patient they're going to live. Instead, you're supposed to dodge the question by saying, "We're doing our best to help you."
- Alinda_
"You've never had to lie to someone in the back of an ambulance then. When someone is dying, those BS platitudes are pretty obvious."
"SCENARIO : You're the single occupant of a vehicle driving between 50-70mph that has struck a deer at night. The deer entered the passenger compartment. The antlers of the deer have penetrated your chest."
"An ambulance arrives 16 minutes after the impact (this is practically light-speed if you're rural) and the ambulance crew (EMT-B and EMT-P..because you're lucky and it's a 3-person crew) look at you, as you realize you feel cold and numb and you ask "Hey...am I going to be OK?"...as you cough up some blood from the growing hemothorax in your chest..."
".....uh....*ahem......er...."!!!!WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO HELP YOU!!!!"......please don't die....."
"you hear.. in a robotic, terrified voice... from the EMT who is working on you. You feel good about that.... or maybe you want someone to lie to you (because who knows... maybe they're wrong and you're gonna live anyway?)"
"It just doesn't always work. You go ahead and tell people who are dying that you're not allowed to discuss statistical averages... see how well that goes down sport."
Safety Over Honesty
Giphy"When you're lgbt and your parents are extremely homophobic/transphobic. Basically, when telling the truth will put you in danger."
"If you're gay in Iran, its definitely better to lie."
- Toad_0
White Lies Save Lives
"When you are speaking to a person who is about commit suicide. Speak as if life is better, even if it isn't at the moment. I'm not saying you should 100% lie, but if you lie (in case you NEED to lie) enough to get that person to seek help instead of committing the act, you will understand the need of a little lie."
- SooWh4t
"As someone who's been on the other side, I'm glad my best friend lied when he had no f-ing clue what was really gonna happen. I'm here today and I'm thankful."
A Hideout
"If a guest at my hotel is hiding from an abusive SO or parent(s) and the abuser(s) show up or call looking for them, I'm certainly going to lie and say I've never heard of the person they're looking for. I've worked in hotels for nearly two decades, and on a few occasions over the years have actually dealt with this situation."
Lying To Kids
"I fully support lying to kids. Whenever they make a crappy art project, tell them it's great. Sing terribly along to a song, tell them it was great. I want my kids to be confident. There are enough people in the world who are going to tell them they suck, they need to KNOW that there are people who will think they and what they do is awesome."
Maybe To Protect Them
"It's a feeling, I want to tell my parents that I had a horrible day at school and that I feel sad but... I just can't... it's better that we are happier. Maybe it's to protect them, maybe it's to prevent them from prying, or maybe take action."
A Matter Of Public Safety
"I had a friend who's grandma had severe dementia. She'd get out money to pay for a delivered pizza, and when the pizza came, she couldn't find it. She also would be driving and forget where to go and blackout sometimes. My friend ended up telling her grandma that she got her license taken away to protect her and everyone else on the road."
- Yawang04
CPR And Everything
"When there's a vehicle accident and the involved party asks you if the other party is okay and you know they're dead."
"The driver was performing CPR and everything on this dude who was drunk riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road with no lights at night. It wasn't his fault, but he never could have lived with himself."
"We held the scene (as we usually do when there's a fatal accident) and I had to lie to the driver that the bicyclist was okay in the hospital."
- anticsd
Call Me Shallow
Giphy"Breakups, sometimes."
"May be an unpopular opinion, but I think there are times when lying to someone about why you are breaking up is the right thing to do. To be clear, I only think this is a good idea if it is a very young relationship or you haven't been dating very long. If you are in a long term relationship, you owe it to that person to be honest at that point."
"So for instance, earlier this year I was dating a girl for a bout a month. Initially I wanted to make the relationship work, because she was a really sweet girl. But as we saw each other more and more, I started to realize that I just wasn't that physically attracted to her. Call me shallow if you want, but physical attraction is an important thing in a relationship. I thought that maybe I could gloss over this in light of her other qualities. But it became something that I started to think about more and more."
"So I eventually decided to break things off with her. When I did, I just told her that I didn't think I was ready for a relationship right now and that we should probably just be friends. Which was a lie. But being honest with her would have meant saying something like "I just don't find you that physically attractive." Which to me, is far more damaging and just kind of mean."
"Whether or not people want to admit it, I think that this is honestly pretty common. With a great many breakups, there's the reason that they gave you, and then there's the real reason."
Tell Them When They're Older
"When my kids ask about their grandfather, my father. All the young kids in my immediate family think he died from a heart attack. Truth is he shot himself while both him and I were home. When they're older i tell them the truth, but no need to put that on a little kid."
Your Number
"How many men (as a woman) you've slept with. It really makes them either upset that they probably aren't the "best," or upset they aren't the first. It's truly a double standard I hate."
The Truth Is Dangerous
"It might be a messed up idea, but if lying helps you in a situation or simply makes a situation better than lie. I mean yeah if the situation will be resolved or handled better with honesty then, by all means, tell the truth. They say the truth will set you free, I, on the other hand, say sometimes the truth is too dangerous."
Unnecessary Harm
"When the truth would cause unnecessary harm."
"A friend of mine was prepping to break up with her fiance, and then she died after some medical complications. They were living together and planning their wedding at this point. At her funeral I recounted some sweet stories of them together that she had shared, and told him how much she loved him."
"Telling him anything else would have been cruel. She isn't coming back, and there would be only pain from knowing the truth."
Chillin' With Jake
"When you're still living with your parents but your leaving to go have sexy time."
"Hey guys, going to chill with Jake, might spend the night. Dont wait up!"
"Am I going to tell my saint of a mother I'm going to have premarital sex? Never ever!"
Plated
"Here's my story. My (now) wife bought an engagement ring off the internet. She read 18k gold so that's what she thought she got. Well turns out it was 18k gold PLATED over lead. How did I find out? Stones kept falling out and when the jeweler cleaned it, it basically became nothing."
"I knew she'd never forgive herself if she found out. So I paid for the mold to be made of the exact ring with real gold and stones. I will take that to my grave."
Gestapo
"The Gestapo is knocking on your door, asking if you're hiding anyone. You are. LIE."
Thanks to these Redditors for breaking down when the best time to lie is.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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