Is Winnie the Pooh Actually a Girl?

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Um, did anyone else just figure out their entire childhood was a lie? It turns out Winnie the Pooh is not a boy from England, but a girl whose owner was originally from Canada. At least, that's true for the real bear that the beloved "hunny"-loving cartoon character is based on.

According to a 2015 report by Bustle, a picture book called "Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear," reveals that Winnie is actually named after a black bear from the London Zoo whose real name is Winnipeg (which is also a town in Canada).

The book was written by Lindsay Mattick, who is the granddaughter of Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, the soldier who was responsible for bringing the real Winnie to England. He bought the bear for just $20 during the First World War in 1914, and he named her after his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. The pair became inseparable until he had to leave Winnie at the London Zoo so he could go off with his unit to France. We're not crying, you are. 🥲

The author, along with illustrator Sophie Blackall, released the children's book in 2o15 to show the world how loved the real-life bear was.

Fans took to Twitter to express their disbelief with Winnie's true identity.

Twitter user @HaileyCriz7 wrote: "Just found out Winnie the Pooh is a girl and I feel like my whole life has been a lie." Same, girl.

Even your fave Dance Moms star and fashion icon Chloe Lukasiak had major feelings about learning Winnie's gender.

She wrote: "Me learning Winnie the Pooh is a girl" with a shocked gif.

Though the real Winnie was left at the London Zoo when Lieutenant Harry Colebourn left for war, there's still a happy ending. Per the BBC, a little boy named Christopher Robin always visited her at the zoo and even named his own teddy bear after her. Christopher's dad, author A. A. Milne, was inspired by his son's sweet connection with the real black bear and went on to write the classic Winnie the Pooh books that inspired multiple shows and movies that we all loved growing up.

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