People Are Sharing The Wild Family Secrets They Learned Only After A Loved One Died

"Recently, my dad did a DNA test, and found out he has a half-aunt. There was a period of time when my great-grandmother was 'figuring things out,' getting an apartment, and getting stable for her then 10-year-old son, my grandpa. My grandpa was staying with his grandparents during this. During that time, she had another child whom she put up for adoption."

"The man I grew up thinking was my uncle was actually my half-brother born due to a tryst in Washington, DC, in 1943. My mother left him in an orphanage, but my grandparents retrieved him and raised him as their 'adopted' son. Jesus Jumped Up Christ, the shit this caused me during my childhood, as it was a secret that my immediate family knew but never shared."

"My grandma had a first marriage and a child in a different state that I only found out about after she died. I connected with the side of the family that shared her real maiden name (not the fake name she gave everyone), which was important because my grandma gave us a very, very rare genetic disorder that causes a bunch of health issues, so identifying family members is important."

Hidden familial relationships surfaced after deaths and DNA testing, revealing previously unknown half-relatives and adoptions. A DNA test connected a man to a half-aunt whose biological mother had another child and placed her for adoption while stabilizing life for a ten-year-old son. A person discovered that the man they called uncle was actually a half-brother born from a 1943 tryst, left in an orphanage and raised by grandparents as an adopted son, causing childhood turmoil. A grandmother's secret first marriage and child were revealed after her death, enabling identification of relatives linked to a very rare genetic disorder.

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