19 People Reveal The Secret They've Made It This Far In Life Without Telling Their Parents
Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to spill the secrets you've kept from your parents after all these years and y'all did not disappoint with the drama. Here are some of the best.
Some people have been hiding salacious or unwise hookups.
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1."That I have been secretly hooking up with my uncle's wife's brother who is only a few years older than me. It's been going on for almost ten years now.😳" — superbiggy6
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2."When I was 16/17 I spent 6 months hooking up with the 32-year-old renting out our basement at the time."
"My dad knows I hung out with him once, and my mom knows that we hooked up once, but the hanging out and hooking up went on for way longer than they thought, and they didn't even find out about the 'one time' until after he had moved out. Obviously, I have a lot of regrets regarding that situation."
Some people were engaging in a liiiitttle bit of theft
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3."I had a period in my childhood when I would take my parent's money without them knowing. My allowance was almost non-existent, and first I would pickpocket them but I think it was a thrilling thing too, not being caught."
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"When they didn't have cash, I would take my dad's credit card and take the smallest amount (it was a long time ago, he couldn't check it so easily). But, one day my dad unexpectedly wanted his card and couldn't find it. He made a big fuss, called the bank, called shops he visited that day, accused them of being thieves... I never could make myself to admit it was me.. and 22 years later - they still don't know. I still have that card as a reminder of my guilt. I never stole anything in my life ever again."
4."Exactly how much damage I did to their cars. I was terrible at reversing and hit many other cars and even a light pole."
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"I was equally bad at going forward and also rear-ended someone and cracked a front bumper on something in the garage. The only time one of them noticed, they each blamed the other."
A lot of people have decided it's easier not to share their sexuality with their loved ones.
5."That I'm way gay" —rindsayrohan
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6."All those hours on the computer weren't me doing homework. That was me finding out that queer people exist <3" —olliemichlee
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7."That I am bisexual. And even though I married a man we have an open relationship and sleep with other couples."
"She would lose her shit and probably disown me."
8.That their abstinence-only sex policy put them in some dangerous situations.
"The first time I took a boyfriend into my room, I was over 18 and on the pill. My mom freaked out and made it clear that wasn’t to happen again. So instead of a safe, comfortable situation, she put me in unsafe, uncomfortable situations," one person replied.
"Some of my boyfriends had tolerant parents or roommates. But some had parents like mine, and we ended up doing things at parties, in cars, parks, and even a municipal ice skating rink. Fortunately one of them was a city maintenance worker who showed me some of the turnouts they used where it was unlikely a police officer would notice. Luckily I chose my partners well and never got assaulted or arrested for public lewdness, but it was not thanks to my mother."
Many people are choosing to keep things about their mental health to themselves.
9."I always struggled as a kid. I was super anxious and couldn't make friends, and in middle school and high school struggled academically and had terrible depression."
"My mom always tried to help me and advocate for me. She took me to psychiatrists and therapists trying to get help for me, but it was the 80s, there just weren't a lot of services for kids back then. I know my mom harbors a lot of guilt for how I struggled, even though she did everything she possibly could," the commenter continued.
"Recently as an adult, I was diagnosed with Autism, and I will probably never tell my mom. It was absolutely not her fault that it went overlooked when I was a child - I didn't even meet the diagnostic criteria that doctors used back then."
"But I know it will just make her feel even more guilty, always wondering if there was more that could have done for me. There wasn't, and she doesn't need to spend the remaining years of her life feeling bad and wondering 'what if.'"—canonicallyasexual
10."That I can’t mentally or physically stand to be around them anymore."
"My father is an alcoholic and doctors said he cannot stop drinking, if he does he would end up dying. I’m not allowed to talk to his side of the family because he doesn’t care for them (from the lots my mother has told) when really they just want to stay in his life," one commenter said.
"My mom is an enabler and lies about everything to be relevant to whoever is near her at the moment. She has lied to me in my younger years (now 39) and I just started to realize everything a few years ago. She always pits people against each other but denies it all the time."
Some are hiding pretty typical early-life secrets.
11."The real reason I enjoyed the jacuzzi bath so much."
"I was sixteen and just discovered self-pleasure, so the jets were an absolute godsend. It's clear she knew, but she never has let on that she knows."
12."When I first went to O.U., I started my first ever semester by taking only two classes to test the waters. I ended up getting a D in the first class (which was History of the English Language) as my final grade."
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"I passed my second class (which was Sociology of Deviance) with flying colors. It has been almost five years since then (I eventually graduated in 2020), and I have not told my parents about how well I did in the History of the English Language. I convinced them I passes that class, and I hope it stays that way for a long time to come."
13."I will never tell my parents that I almost got myself killed."
"I was a stupid pre-teen and decided to do cartwheels on the road, and only stopped when a car almost crashed into me. Luckily, the driver stopped and came out to yell at me for being reckless. Honestly, I'm surprised they don't know to this day considering that the driver was my teacher at the time."
14."I spent my $1300 government Covid money on a tattoo" —im2pretty4math
15."That I nearly burnt the house down when I was 16 and they'd gone on holiday."
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"I was smoking a joint in bed and a hot rock fell off and I didn't notice and started burning my duvet. I had a total panic but pulled myself together quick enough to throw my duvet out of the window into the garden."
"They know about my drug addiction and homelessness but that is one I have never told and not sure I ever would."
16."The only time I got pulled over was in high school. I snuck out and turned my headlights off."
"I picked up a friend and we were going to another city 20 minutes away. A cop going the opposite direction saw my headlights and turned around to pull us over. 1) For my headlights and 2) We were out past curfew because we were minors. He insisted that we call our parents," the commenter recalled.
" Well, both of our parents didn’t answer those phones and I know my parents power off their phones at night. So they never got the notification that I called at 1 a.m. and the cop told me to go home and let me off with a warning."
17."I spent my teen years skipping school, smoking pot and trying other drugs, hanging out in Gay bars, and driving around with my equally stoned and drunk friends. (It was the 70s.)"
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"My first winter break at home as a sophomore in college, my mother and I got into a huge fight. She made the fatal error of telling me that she knew me "better than I knew myself."
"Challenge accepted! I proceeded to give a run-down of my high school years, including all the sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll. I was very blunt and utterly truthful," the commenter revealed.
"Found out later that she told a relative later that day that I had 'made it all up to hurt her.' That's how well I slipped it by her."
—kilo
Others are hiding bigger life decisions.
18."I will never tell my mom I am atheist. Since I was 5 my family and I were part of a Pentecostal church. As I grew up in the church, I never fully believed all the things I was taught, but still I tried to pray and read scripture."
"I felt encouraged to do so because many of my closest friends were in the church. As I got to my mid-20s, I genuinely wanted to feel 'His presence' like all my friends said they experienced. I never did and thought, maybe I’m just not trying hard enough. The whole time though, each homophobic sermon, all the ways our church proved to be anti-feminist, pushed me further and further away from any commitment I had left," the commenter continued.
"It wasn’t until I moved out 2 years ago that I realized I felt a sense of relief to be out of that church. I fully accepted that I don’t believe in a god about a year ago. I’m happy with my beliefs but I will never tell my mom. I know she and I will never agree on this point so to avoid arguments I am prepared to pretend I still at least believe a god exists every time I talk to my mother." —susiecontreras
19."I smoke cigarettes on the daily."
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"My parents would scream and panic if they found that out. When I started to smoke that's when I really knew I shouldn't tell them everything about my life ever again. I love keeping some things in my life to myself."
