Girl Finds Father’s Wedding Photo in Old Attic, Later Realizes Her Family’s Long-Term Lies

A woman kept an incredible secret from her grandchild for nearly 30 years but froze after the grandchild accidentally found an old photo. It was a photo of her grandchild’s father with a woman the grandchild didn’t know about.

In a recent Reddit post that’s now trending on the community’s famous “AITA” sub with over 6K upvotes, a person shared a nostalgic story about a tragic 30-year-old family secret that was recently discovered in their grandmother’s attic.

Since then, Redditor Throwawaylying3000’s viral story has garnered some of the most incredible responses from commenters who couldn’t help but wonder about the extent to which someone could go to keep a secret from being exposed.

The 29-year-old Original Poster (OP) ’s grandma had decided to move from her lived-in house into a one-bedroom flat after her husband’s recent passing. Meanwhile, she needed help with packing, and there was a mountainous amount of stuff she didn’t want to take with her.

This is where OP decided to help, scouring the house to the attic where boxes of some old pictures were located. The grandmother took a break to go through them while OP accompanied her in awe.

While they were rummaging through the photos, a picture of OP’s mom surfaced. She was with a younger kid in the framed photograph. OP was curious to know who the kid was sure she wasn’t a sister or a cousin because OP’s mother had none.

When OP’s dad saw the photo later, he candidly told OP that the child in the picture was indeed the mom’s younger sister who passed away due to cot death.

OP’s parents insisted not to bring this topic to their grandmother as it would emotionally impact her, considering she’d just lost her husband. At the time, whatever the parents said made sense to OP.

Shockingly, everyone in the family, including OP’s paternal grandparents, knew about the secret.

However, it wasn’t until another peculiar picture popped up that the grandchild started suspecting that there was something more to the story.

A month later, OP accidentally found another old photo. It featured OP’s dad with an unknown woman in a bridal gown. OP’s mom was around when OP discovered the picture, but she couldn’t explain it as she was equally alarmed.

OP had no idea why the photo was stashed in the attic considering the woman in the photo was not OP’s mother. It appeared the man in the picture, OP’s father, was married to another woman.

The matter was put to rest until the next day when OP stormed to their grandmother for an explanation. However, little did OP know that the soul-crushing pieces of the past were about to come to light.

The grandma told OP that the bride in the picture was none other than OP’s mom’s younger sister, and she was OP’s dad’s ex-wife. Back in the day, OP’s father had an affair with his wife’s sister and ended up divorcing her to harbor his extramarital relationship.

Unable to fathom this, OP’s aunt cut contact with her family and remained estranged for nearly 30 years. Shockingly, everyone in the family, including OP’s paternal grandparents, knew about the secret. OP was shocked, although OP’s parents insisted the truth wouldn’t significantly impact anyone.

The Redditor disagreed and asked the internet if it was wrong to be furious with family members for hiding such a significant secret. But the people online had some different opinions on the matter.

“All these years, no one gave a damn about your mom’s sister? 30 years! Obviously, your grandparents did not support her or were there for her. That must have been absolutely horrible for her!” user mcmurrml stated.

“Can you imagine? Your sister sleeps with your husband, and your entire family abandons YOU as a result,” Redditor OrangeCubit recounted.

As the discussion and sympathy for OP’s alleged aunt surged, one person found OP’s plight relatable because of the awful things their grandma had to endure after her husband left her for his secretary.

“My grandmother’s husband had an affair with his secretary, dumped her with their two kids and a massive mortgage on a house she didn’t ask for… Her family never forgave her for driving him away,” Redditor Impressive-Hunt-2803 said, adding:

“She never remarried, died alone and heartbroken decades later, completely estranged from her family who couldn’t shut up about how much they missed her husband being around.”

In the end, OP was alarmed and couldn’t shake off the reality of how the family kept a hideous secret for 30 long years.

“I’m angry that the only family members I have, my parents and both sets of grandparents, have kept this from me. I would never have known if I didn’t accidentally see those pictures,” the Redditor concluded.

Questions to Ponder:

Do you think it was in OP’s best interest not to learn the truth?

OP’s parents and grandparents didn’t appear to have any intentions of revealing the secret to OP. But the photos emerged, and the truth was revealed. Considering how the truth shattered OP’s belief in the family, do you think it was better if OP never learned of it?

Was it right on the grandparents’ part to abandon their wronged daughter?

OP claimed that the grandma assumed she’d gotten rid of all her estranged daughter’s photos not to cause any calamity in their family. However, she was compelled to tell the truth about her after OP accidentally found the dad’s wedding picture. Even the people online condemned OP’s maternal grandparents for abandoning their daughter and destroying every bit of her memories. How would you process a similar scenario if you were the grandparents?

If you liked this story, here’s how a woman desperate to trace her ancestry finds a disturbing truth about her family tree.

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