People Are Sharing The Dark, Dirty, And Diabolical Secrets They Weren't Meant To Hear, And It's Intense
Abby Zinman
15 min read
I'm a pretty trusting person, but still, I know everyone's got their secrets. Particularly in families and relationships, there are often hidden truths and secrets that are kept hidden. (If you're in denial about that, well, maybe you're just blissfully unaware.)
But the only thing worse than never discovering these secrets is finding out by accident. So recently on Reddit, people shared the juiciest secrets they overheard, and wow, it's better than any TV drama ever. Here's what people said:
1. "Once, as a young child, I eavesdropped on a phone call between my mom and my paternal grandfather. I thought I'd find out what my Christmas present was going to be. Instead, I discovered that my dad cheated and had a girlfriend on the side. He was not actually travelling to look for a suitable house for us, like I was told — but he'd in fact left us months ago. My whole world crumbled. I was about 10, and I was a total daddy's girl."
NBC
2. "I overheard my ex telling her bestie on the phone that she was going to poison my cat, Ranch Dressing, while I was away on a trip. She said her plan was to tell me my cat had run away when I got back. At this point, she had been making hateful comments about my cat for a few months. It turns out the guy she was ******* in our bed while I was at work was allergic to cats. I ended up breaking up with her at her birthday party. And my cat lived another eight years after that."
3. "My father was a paraplegic after a motorcycle accident. My dad's side of the family made it apparent that they didn't like my mom, but she never refused us when we asked to visit them — she always believed that kids have a right to see their family. After my dad's funeral, I was going through some boxes of his that I had brought home with me. Inside was a tape recorder and lots of tapes. What I heard was recordings my mom had made in the hospital after my dad's accident, when she would step out of my dad's room. It turns out my grandma and aunt were plotting to remove us from my mom's care, and they kept saying racist stuff about her being a Mexican. Part of me died when my dad passed, and more of me shriveled up after listening to that tape. I still have the other tapes and the tape recorder, but I don't have it in me to listen to the rest of them. They still have no idea that's why I stopped talking to them."
4. When I was 10, a new girl (let's call her Lisa) joined my class, and got a 'mean girl group' around her. It was full of drama. Later, a girl from that group (let's call her Naomi) found out Lisa's brother almost died from a drug overdose, and they moved to this town to get away from that life. Naomi accidentally exposed her story to me in a fight we had. I tried to tell Lisa that I found out, but that I wouldn't tell anyone else and I was there for her. I didn’t realize another girl from the group was close by, and overheard. Lisa told me in private that she appreciated me being there. However, once Lisa realized one of the other girls knew, she told the whole group that I'd made that story up to make her look bad. This caused the group to hate me, and gave Naomi a way out. When Naomi ended up telling the rest of the class as well, Lisa blamed me for spreading it again. I was hated by them for a couple years, and it ended up in a physical fight."
"The story was confirmed to genuinely be true in a conversation I had with her mother a while later."
Paramount
5. "'I never wanted her, just her sisters' — from my adoptive father to his friend on the phone. I ended up confronting him about it. He told me to my face that when he was adopting us, he didn't know I existed, and that he was only looking to adopt my two sisters. They told him he had to adopt me with them or he couldn't have them, so he did. But he regretted it, as I had severe complex-PTSD from a bad childhood, and OCD that was manifesting as I grew up. I was the 'problem child.' I don't talk with him or my sisters anymore, and I don't regret a thing."
6. "When I was a kid, around 10 years old, I overheard my friend's mom talking to my mom. My friend was adopted, and she knew only that much — but she didn't know that her biological mom was her sister. So the lady my friend thought of as an aunt was actually her mother. When I got home, I told my mom what I heard. She made it very clear that I would not be saying anything or mentioning it ever again. And I didn't — until my friend turned 18 and learned the truth. When she found out, she was shocked, but happy that it was someone she already knew and loved. When she was born, her biological mom was just in a bad situation and couldn’t take care of her. When my friend told me, I told her I knew. She wasn't mad, just surprised I never said anything."
7. "I arrived early to a funeral and overheard a conversation — the funeral home director was informing the family that the deceased did not hold the high army rank he said he did. They refused to refer to him by that rank. I never told them I heard; he'd made his rank his whole identity."
8. "When I was 11, I found out accidentally that my parents were getting divorced. My dad and my uncle were on the phone, and they were discussing my mom and dad's decision to get divorced. I'd picked up the phone to use it and overheard them talking."
Columbia Pictures
9. "As a kid, I came home from a day at the local fair, and heard my parents talking about me. They were saying that they wished they could put me up for adoption or get rid of me. It wasn't really a surprise; I knew they didn't like me. I actually think that was the problem — they knew I could see them for who they really were, and it made them uncomfortable."
10. "A couple friends of ours who were dating recently split up. To my shock, I learned that he'd been sleeping with his sister-in-law the whole time, and his brother knew all about it. I'm never asking questions about anything ever again! The wife in the situation still doesn't know. I'm still very good friends with sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and I don't have the heart to tell her, so I just avoid them at all costs."
11. "My cousin stole my elderly grandfather's credit card information, and was subscribing to a girl on ******** for quite a hefty monthly price. I overheard it being discussed when we were trying to get everything in order after he died."
12. "This one is wild: I accidentally overheard my boss saying that he likes his ******** licked. I mean, whatever floats your boat, but I'm sure that I was NOT supposed to hear that. Very unfortunate."
13. "I was in the store cupboard at my job at the wrong time, and heard my managers talking. I learned that two people I worked with were going to be out of a job by the end of the week. One of our managers didn't want a part-time employee to end up with a permanent job, either, because she 'made so many mistakes' and was 'very slow with work.' It was awkward listening to that conversation."
– ryuxiies
NBC
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14. "I was visiting my ex-husband with our daughter, and his new wife had gone to bed upstairs. He said to me, 'I think I married the wrong girl.' Later, he told me she heard that. Ouch. I never liked her, but no one ever deserves to hear something like that."
– kw661
15. "I overheard my mom screaming at my dad one day, and she said that all he cared about was his business and his son. I am one of his daughters. The wild thing is that I never got the feeling growing up that my dad loved my brother more than me or my sister. I knew my dad was best friends with my brother, but I always felt loved by him. I didn't know my mom felt that way about him, though, and honestly, it changed my opinion on her, too."
16. "A friend of mine asked me to pick up her phone and check something on it. A text from her boyfriend read: 'Are you still hanging out with Ms. Miscarriage?' I had miscarried two weeks before, and asked her not to tell anyone. It took me far too long to realize she was not my friend."
17. "Four years ago, I overheard my 'best friend' of 10 years telling my new boyfriend that he shouldn't go out with me because I had severe depression and PTSD. She said she was purposely distancing herself from me because of it, and that I was basically a child due to my autism and incapable of serious relationships. She still has no idea that I heard her. It completely broke my heart to hear what she actually thought about me and couldn't understand why she never talked to me about it. I haven't spoken to her since. My amazing and supportive boyfriend is now my fiancé; we have two wonderful kids, and we're in the process of buying our first house. And I'm now definitely the happiest I've been, without her."
– sleighco
Amazon Prime
18. "My friend posted about me on Reddit, looking for advice. I knew it was them by the username. It wasn't for me to ever see. I don't really have any strong feelings about it — it didn't change anything, but it was wild. The big secret was that they were trying to cut our relationship off. But I guess they didn't end up doing that, since they asked me to hang out afterward. We aren't close anymore, though."
– ladyalot
19. "My former father quite literally obstructed all attempts to get me the help I badly needed growing up. My mother took that secret to her ******* grave, and I never would have known the true extent of their ****** parenting had I not overheard her closest friend talking about it. Then, she told me everything. I didn't think I could despise that bigoted man more than I had already, but *********, did that little revelation do the job."
20. "I was sleeping over at my friend's house, and suddenly got a call from my now-ex. He told me he wanted to take a break. Then, five minutes later, my friend looked at me and said, 'He's asking me out right now.' And what makes this worse is that he knew I was with her. It all started because she sent him an unflattering picture of me in my pajamas as a joke."
21. "My coworker applied to be an assistant manager, and my manager told him quietly one morning, 'Once your training is done, I'm picking you to come back and replace (our current assistant manager). He's just not doing anything right.' They assumed I couldn't hear because I had headphones on, but I've got good snooping instincts, and paused my music when I heard them start talking. The assistant and my manager had been working together for 10 years, but my manager is a coward. He'd rather have replaced him than talked to him about improving his performance — because he knows would've had to follow an improvement plan or whatever, and he 'doesn't have time for that ********.'"
– Bazrum
NBC
22. "My best friend and mom were talking, and they thought I couldn't hear. Her mom was advising her to 'move in' on my boyfriend. My friend at least waited until we broke up…"
23. "When I was a kid, my mom and my grandmother (mom's mother) were talking in the car, and I was in the backseat. My mom mentioned that my aunt got pregnant as a teen and gave the kid up for adoption. I didn't say anything about it until years later. My mom just assumed I was not paying attention because I was occupied with a video game or something."
24. "I overheard my former boss telling my direct supervisor that she didn't want to hire me, but did so because there was no other choice. I really thought I was doing well at this job, too, considering all of her raving reviews in my evaluations."
25. "I overheard my mom screaming at my dad. She was saying that he only got a vasectomy so he could **** other people. Then, he was crying, insisting that no, he only got it so she could come off the birth control that was destroying her body and mental state."
HBO
26. "About 30 years ago, I was with a girlfriend. We overheard her parents talking about her uncle's 'first family.' My girlfriend had no idea her uncle had been married previously, and neither did her cousins (his kids). She asked her mom if her uncle had kids from that previous marriage, and she said 'I'd rather not answer that,' implying yes. The girlfriend and I broke up soon afterward, so I don't know how this all played out. But one thing's for sure: She was never meant to know about this other family."
27. "My dad is really well-respected among my community and city. But they only feel that way because they don't know the real him. This story says it all: I overheard him telling someone that I don't deserve to carry his last name."
28. "Years ago, I came across a post on Reddit that felt way too familiar. A friend of mine had written it, changing just enough details to disguise it, but it was clearly about us. The problem was, she'd twisted the story to make herself look like the victim. This confirmed what I had already started to realize: that she was toxic. After seeing that, I stopped talking to her altogether. Afterward, she started reaching out non-stop, to the point where it felt like borderline stalking. She'd ask over and over what she had done wrong, and why I wasn’t responding. I didn’t engage at all. Then she updated her post. Suddenly, I was the one 'hounding' her for communication. She even wrote out a text she claimed I'd sent, when in reality, it was something she'd said to me. It was surreal seeing my own experience rewritten like that. Honestly, it was just really weird and unsettling, and I'm glad we are not friends!"
29. "I accidentally heard my parents arguing about money when I was a kid. It turns out that things were way worse than they ever let on. They never knew I heard, and I never told them I knew. That certainly how I saw things, though. My mom use to cry bitterly in secret to hide her pain from us."
AMC
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30. "I found out that my uncle wasn't shot in the leg by a rival biker gang. In reality, he shot himself holstering his own pistol in the garage."
– ClubZen
31. "I heard my dad and one of his ex-girlfriends talk about how I was a bad influence on her son when they were together. But her son was older than I was, and he showed me so much bad stuff, he could've been considered a terrible influence to me."
32. "I accidentally overheard one of my friends coming out to one of our mutual friends, and it was supposed to be private. 'So I'm actually gay,' my friend said. I never said anything and still supported them, of course."
33. "In college, I overheard a woman agreeing to give a guy a ******* if he wrote her paper."
34. "When I got a new role in my company, I overheard all my coworkers talking about it after it was announced to everyone. It turns out that people were not happy for me, LMAO."
35. "I overheard all my friends on the phone, talking about how much they hated me and were annoyed by me. They didn't know I was in the call as well."
Paramount Pictures
What's a shocking secret you overheard from a family member or partner? Tell me in this anonymous form, or in the comments below!
And check out BuzzFeed Canada on TikTok and Instagram for more!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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