Let me tell you a secret… skeletons in the closet don’t always stay dead. Reddit users talk about the secrets that could destroy their life if they came to light.
Comments have been edited for clarity. The source can be found the end of the article.
About a year later she ended up pregnant. She told her mom that the father was a guy she was dating at school, and her mom arranged an abortion.
14 years later our parents are still married and we see each other regularly at family get-togethers. Only a handful of people in the family know that she was pregnant at 16, and she’s still the only one who knows that I was the father.
noteveninalabama
My secret is that I disappear for months at a time into the psych wards. That alone disqualifies me for several jobs. My family would disown me my friends are few and far in between because I “ghost” a lot. I live on the streets and in the winter I take a bus to warmer climates.
cyggystardust
I missed school a lot when I was in junior high because I was a depressed teenager and hated being around people. My mom just let me stay home when I wanted. I still got all A’s. Just needed the space.
I got a letter saying that I missed too many days and had to stay back a grade so my mom forged doctor’s notes. I technically shouldn’t have passed 9th grade. But my mom was pissed and said I earned my grades and shouldn’t be punished for missing a few extra days of school.
I now work for the same school district and the principal that handled that is now our superintendent. I doubt anything would come of it if people knew. But I bet my mom would get into a little trouble over it.
squirmdragon
My husband used to be internet-famous for some seriously NSFW stuff. He moved to a different state to live with me after he lost his job when his employer found out. We’ve been laying low for close to 10 years, and so far it’s already come back to bite us once. Lost a bunch of friends after someone randomly found out and told everyone they knew, but he has a new job now and things have been going well. But in the back of my head I’m always terrified someone will find his old stuff, bring it back into the open, and drag him (and now his family as well) through the mud again.
Internet is forever. Be very careful what you upload.
couragehelpme
I committed a string of burglaries as a teenager. Stole all types of things. Never got caught. I know I would be in prison to this day if I had been caught. I have changed, though, and thoroughly bust my butt for the little I do have. Most people who meet me would never guess that I came from such an insane background.
ode_to_the_siren
My family would disown me if they knew I used to escort in college to pay off college tuition. The shame and dishonor on my father/family from other family members and friends would be too much. I think my dad would honestly try to kill me.
buclaoboii
That I’m the reason my fiance died. We were arguing, and I said some things I still regret. She got fed up and drove off in the middle of a bad storm. I still remember the look on her face when she stopped at the door, like she was waiting for me to stop her from leaving. She was always afraid of storms.
testerosterone
I remember when I missed all the hints my best friend threw at me to cancel my hunting trip. After day two I went into town to give her a call, and I had 12 missed calls from her. I got home and learned that she took her own life in the basement because of her step father. I was always the one person she would go to for anything, and the one time she really needed me, I put a trip in front of her. Almost offed myself because of the guilt. It’s really rough, bro.
zebrucie
How much I’d be willing to drop everything at the drop of the hat and just leave everyone behind.
How I still have really intense dark thoughts. I used to be very depressed in my teens. Went through the whole medication, in-patient care, therapy cycle and was alright for a little bit. If I had close friends, I’m afraid that might drive them away.
How I usually try to keep everyone at an arm’s distance because I’m afraid of being too vulnerable to too many people.
leaktao
Not exactly “life ruining” but it would destroy a long friendship. (Known him since like around 9th grade.) I cannot stand his girlfriend. She is unbelievably self centered and makes herself the victim of everything. Whenever something good happens to him or anyone, she shames him for “bragging” or just straight up tries to make it about herself. I wish with all my heart I could tell him she’s not good for him, but I know he’d hate me for it. If she makes him happy then I’m happy for him, but I sometimes wish he could see her through someone else’s eyes.
secretidentity202
5 years ago, I was sitting in my crappy apartment and watching videos on Youtube called “People Are Awesome.” I hated my life, myself and the people with whom I kept company. I hated my job. I was really getting closer and closer to what I saw as an inevitable end that involved a bottle, my truck, and a dark, lonely country road.
I had a vacation planned and I’d decided that I was going to do something there, a thousand miles away from home, to end my life. I ended up going to this camp ground in the panhandle of Florida that’s absolutely beautiful. While I was there, I met a couple dive bros that had been cave diving. That night we talked about how the lake was connected by a cave system that was all underwater.
The bros offered me their back up gear and to lead me through this cave system the next day. One of them dropped out and went to sleep and the other guy and I talked about things, about life as we saw it. I don’t know if it was him that planted the seed in my brain or not.
As we spoke about it, just that guy and I, I told him that I wanted to free dive it and that, no matter what, he was not to offer me any help at all other than to lead the way. That, should God decide not to allow me through it, then to let me go. We shook hands over it and went to sleep.
We got our stuff together the next day. I sent a text or two, simply reminding people that I was thinking of them. As per the agreement, I dropped the regulator and wrapped it around the chest strap as soon as we lost the sunlight. I started kicking. I swam like crazy through that inky gloom, gently exhaling the entire time and being careful not to touch the walls, floor or ceiling.
The further along we got, the more my lungs hurt and the heavier my arms and legs felt. I was raised Catholic, so I started saying some prayers for myself as I realized what was happening. In that moment, I accepted my death and realized that all of the stupid stuff that had gotten me down, that weighed me down and that I chose to carry, was meaningless.
I realized the world in which we live is a beautiful, wonderful and amazing place that we don’t do enough to protect. I realized that we, as humans, don’t do enough for the other humans around us.
I also realized I was probably going to die post-freaking-haste.
I kept kicking, kept swinging my arms until I saw the light from the lake. I’d made it. I’d done it. I’d faced every problem I had and gave it the famed double eagle while asking for more.
Since then, I go on yearly vacations just like everyone else. I don’t ever take any of the people with whom I’m acquainted and, before I do, I always leave my extra bank card with the pin number and the key to my safety deposit box on my kitchen table. I go somewhere a thousand miles away from where I live and try hard not to kill myself doing something crazy.
Dixiecupaccount
That my partner and I are together, and that we’ve been together for nearly four years. He’s not my boss but he is faculty at the university where I’m a grad student. There are rules about these things – he’d lose his job, and my career would be pretty much destroyed.
8371531974
Everybody thinks Im this awesome mother and wife. Im a superstar at work. People are always telling me they dont know how I do everything, how Im so good at this or that.
Nobody knows how often I fantasize about completely running away. From everything. Sometimes you hear about a woman who abandoned her life including her kids and you wonder how could somebody do that? Well, to me its not so hard to understand.
srsly_stupid_yall
I almost ended it all last month. My co-worker snapped me out of it without realizing it.
If anyone I knew found out, I’d get fired, put into some psych ward, or be constantly looked down upon by my family for “being weak” even though they’re the ones who caused it.
SlyCoopersButt
Sometimes my missus has a hard time putting my 6 month old daughter to sleep, so she tells me to do it.
If she found out we were actually in the bedroom playing peek a boo and tossing her into the air to catch her, I’d be in a woooorld of trouble.
Smashtkrab
I am a big burly manbear who plays football and loves working on cars. I am also a huge weaboo/gamer nerd and dont have anyone to share that with. I am not just half jock half nerd. I work in IT and everyone around me is small and intimidated. I just want someone to talk to about Destiny 2 on PC and how awesome All Might is….
dsegura90
I plan on getting a restraining order against my brother once I move out. Growing up, he was extremely physically and verbally abusive to not only me but my parents. They were too scared of him so they didnt do anything about it out of fear. I know if I get this restraining order, my family might be mad because they made me swear to never tell anyone what he did. But I dont want him in my life at all or ever have contact with him after I move out.
Dhjdjf
I like men more than women.
My very homophobic family thinks I’m a shy straight virgin. Oh boy, if they knew…
-Mavoko-
I don’t think I’m depressed per say, but whatever I’ve been feeling for the past year or so definitely isn’t normal. I think I’ve somehow been able to fight the horrible moods that come with depression enough to stop it… but lately the battle that I’ve been fighting feels like its over, and neither side won. I don’t think anyone knows that I feel lonely even when I’m around people. Some days I can’t tell if depression is killing me or if I’m killing it. Most of the time it feels like we’ve killed each other.
sodakid1919
My very religious family would disown me if they knew I was living with my boyfriend in another state while I was studying for my board exam. My mom thinks I’ve only just gotten a peck on the cheek from a guy. Little did they know I was getting much more than that regularly.
srsfam
It’s not like “Oh I killed someone”, but still pretty serious.
I went to college for a single semester. It was a for profit school. I hated it. Paid way too much for it. Got super depressed, was in a career choice that I didn’t want at all, but thought I would like. I had to get out.
On university applications, they say that you have to list all previous colleges and send transcripts from them. I lied, and said that I had no college experience. My grades were astronomically low, partly because I knew I was dropping out after the semester was done, even if I did go to another college or not.
I’m at another school with low tuition, in addition to being out of state. It’s actually lower then my in-state tuition I would’ve gotten at most public schools. I’m in a field that I love now.
So yeah, that could screw me up if I told anyone. They kick people out, no questions asked, if it comes out. I was smart about it and removed any possible information that I had gone to the previous school though. But I’m way happier now.
thoraway123412341234
I’m not sure if this secret would totally screw up my life. But I’d rather not my family find out about my habit of visiting (safe & legal) sex workers. My mother would probably be cool about it. My sister is extremely judgmental and has voiced extremely negative opinions on men who engage in that activity.
Jack-A-Roe31
That I’m an atheist. I work for a christian organization… yeah, it wouldn’t go over well. I don’t lie, but I skirt around the truth with a “I’m not religious.” I nod and smile with the church-y suggestions that usually follow.
dancinghoneybear
In my last job I made an error of millions in the currency of my country. I made sure to erase nearly all the traces. Then 3 months later I quit under the guise of having a side project I wanted to transform into a business (it was 50/50 real and a lie). Recently I found out people lost their jobs. It was people that have worked for years in that business, fired because “the annual profit was almost negative.”
Nh3m0
I’m English. My cousin is 28 years old, blonde, tall, skinny, pretty, the works.
Spent 2 years messing around with her while she was in a bad relationship and I was in a bad relationship and we were more like each others’ safe havens. Family would boot if they found out.
poopythrowawaylul
Just how messed up I am. My family thinks I’m a good guy. But I have done so much horrible stuff that I would probably be completely cut off from any of them if they found out.
GS-Sarin
Since he introduced us years ago, I’ve been falling in love with my best friend’s wife. I would never do anything to jeopardize their relationship or our friendship. I don’t intend to ever act on my feelings. All I want is for the people I care about most to be happy.
Rawrzlez
I’m not a Christian anymore, but my family doesn’t know. This doesn’t sound that bad, but literally all my family and friends and everyone I knew growing up is a part of that society/culture. I feel like everyone would look down on me for losing my faith. Maybe my family would still love me, but they would think of me as less of a person.
I don’t know how much longer I can keep lying.
whitecheddarpopcorn_
Points edited for clarity.