12 people reveal how they constitute out their dad had a '2nd family unit'

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Sometimes individuals have more than one family without the families knowing.
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  • Sometimes individuals detect out that one of their parents had another family besides their own.
  • In some cases, individuals discover this by having a shared name equally someone else.
  • Other times, they discovered that their father had another family (or multiple other families) using DNA tests or by seeing their father with another child.

Sometimes, married individuals decide to get-go 2d families and go on them a cloak-and-dagger from some of their loved ones. Merely in some cases, information technology's only a matter of time until the truth comes out — and the truth can come out in some surprising means.

Here are 12 stories from Reddit users almost how they or someone in their life discovered their father had a 2d family.

INSIDER cannot independently authenticate these stories.

"Two families showed upward at the funeral."

"It was a huge shock, and it messed up everyone involved, basically."
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"[When my friend's dad died,] two families showed up at the funeral. Guy had 2 wives and five kids total. No i knew annihilation; it was a huge daze and it basically messed upward anybody involved.

"Many years afterward, my friend is shut and has a proficient relationship with his half-siblings but his mom and sisters never really got over information technology and pretend they don't exist ..." — Reddit user Aneley13

"When I was looking at his tax return, it showed a girl's name every bit a dependent."

"She contacted me on social media request if I was her brother."
Flickr / Erich Ferdinand

"I found out my dad had a daughter later my parents divorced. When I was 18 looking at his tax return for college financial aid, it showed a girl'due south proper noun as a dependent. I never asked him virtually information technology until a few years back when she contacted me on social media asking if I was her blood brother." — Reddit user brandnvsworld

"I met a person with an unusual proper name on a small gaming forum."

"Now she's the simply person who'due south remotely related to me that I can stand."
Marco Arment/Flickr

"My dad had a daughter with a Nicaraguan woman who lived in America and [when I was younger] he would go to America on 'piece of work trips.' He got banned from America after overstaying and my female parent knew the entire time. They never said anything my entire life.

"Then, I met a person with an unusual proper noun on a small gaming forum, talked about information technology to my parents, and everyone loses their s--- considering it turned out she was my half-sister. They verified it and everything and had to cough up photos I still have. Now she'due south the only person who's remotely related to me that I can stand." — Reddit user GahDemArmsRace

"My wife's friend witnessed her begetter hugging a daughter in another form."

"Information technology turns out he had a second family, besides with 2 daughters a few blocks abroad."
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"This happened to my wife'southward friend. The father was a firefighter and his two daughters lived down the block. Information technology turns out he had a second family unit, also with ii daughters a few blocks away.

"The second adult female knew he had a married woman and kids, only they never told their daughters. The fireman did ane of those prophylactic talks in school and gave a hug to one of the daughters from the second family before he left. My married woman'due south friend witnessed her father hugging a girl in another class and asked nigh it at dinner. Things went downhill from there." — Reddit user Marmorset

"[He] started dating this girl that had the same terminal name as him."

"Turns out, she was his half-sister."
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"I had a friend in loftier school who started dating this girl that had the aforementioned last proper noun as him. Turns out, she was his one-half-sister and his dad was raising two families he kept clandestine from each other." — Reddit user manbearbatman

"My mom and I knew her and idea she was just my cousin."

"She just showed upward one day maxim she came to visit and gave my dad a letter she had written."
Flood/Flickr

"I found out my dad had a underground girl. My mom and I knew her and thought she was but my cousin. Turns out, my dad had an affair with his brother'due south married woman. So she was kind of my sister and my cousin at the aforementioned time.

"She simply showed upwardly one mean solar day saying she came to visit and gave my dad a letter she had written. I never read information technology myself but information technology was plain very emotional saying she hated knowing she was lying to anybody. My mom didn't seem to be affected past it much, but my parents got divorced a year later. I think my uncle who thought she was his daughter for 19 years took it the hardest." — Reddit user imoutotrash

"Some other sibling did a DNA test and made her results public."

"Well, my wife has recently establish out she has at least eight half-siblings."
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"Well, my wife has recently found out she has at to the lowest degree eight half-siblings. Apparently, another sibling did a DNA test and made her results public or something. One of the unknown half-siblings had done the aforementioned and voila." — Reddit user M_Russell_Blowhard

"His wife goes to get the nascency certificate for her son and the lady in the office gives her the 1 which belongs to the mistress' son."

"The idiot decided to proper name both sons the aforementioned name."
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"A friend from piece of work told me this story. Her sister married this guy who turned out to be having nigh three diplomacy. When she gave nascence to their kickoff son, the guy's mistress too gave birth about 2 weeks after. The idiot decided to name both of his sons the same get-go name and both kids as well shared his second proper noun.

"So virtually three years subsequently, his married woman goes to go the nativity certificate for her son and the lady in the office gives her the 1 which belongs to the mistress' son, which is how she found out most the whole situation. They're divorced now, and it turned out he guy has 11 children with 5 different women." — Reddit user Kussa_Low

"He decided he just liked one family more the other."

"Unfortunately, it was not my mother's family unit he chose."
Stuart Monk/Shutterstock

"My granddaddy was one of those men that 'married' two women and had ii families — both in the same urban center. From what my mom told me, he'd get on week-long business organization trips every other week. He managed to practice this for almost 15 years.

"The kids started to get older and he decided he just liked one family unit more than the other. Unfortunately, it was non my mother's family he chose. He turned his back on iii teenagers and a unmarried mom in the '60s. It really messed them up. I got to run across him only a few times and all I can tell you virtually the man is his proper name and that I know he stayed with his other family the rest of his life." — Reddit user clientnotfound

"Both of his sons, who both had the aforementioned starting time, middle, AND final proper noun, ended up at the same high school together."

"They both immediately confronted their parents ... "
Michael Springer / Getty Images

"This happened to ii guys I went to schoolhouse with. Their dad had a secret second family unit for xiv years until both of his sons, who both had the aforementioned first, center, AND concluding name, concluded upward at the same high school together. In the aforementioned class, even. They too looked so like to each other that they may too have been twins.

"They both immediately confronted their parents in a 'Hey, something weird happened today…' fashion, and that'south it, the secret was out. The wife and the mistress left him not long after, but the half-brothers went on to be actually good friends." — Reddit user spiderbundles

"During roll call, they called her proper name, and she and some other girl responded."

"They and so realized that their dad also shared the same first name and last name — even middle name — and looked very similar as well."
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"This happened to one of my k aunts. She was in third or quaternary grade and it was the beginning day of school. During whorl call, they chosen her name, and she and another girl responded; it turned out they both had the same showtime and last name (unlike heart names).

"They became instant friends considering of the shared names and started talking about their families; they then realized that their dad also shared the aforementioned outset name and concluding name — fifty-fifty middle name — and looked very similar too. In one case my aunt got home and told all this to her mom, all heck broke loose. It turns out that her father had been fathering children around the neighborhood and letting the women use his terminal name for the baby. I think it came out that he had like 20 children altogether." — Reddit user ryknw01

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