4 weeks ago
20
Note: This post contains mentions of sexual assault, predatory behavior, and violence.
No family is perfect — that's just a given. But there's something oddly comforting about overhearing someone else's family drama. As bizarre and unpredictable as your family can be, someone out there definitely has it worse.
I knew I was in for some spicy gossip when I saw Reddit user u/aquatic_armageddons ask, "What's your juiciest piece of family drama?" People didn't just spill the beans — they spilled the entire grocery store. So get comfy and grab a teacup, because this tea is piping hot.
1. "A couple of winters ago, my cousin was driving under the influence on the backroads with their friend in the passenger seat and crashed the car into a ditch. Upon seeing that their friend was unresponsive, they moved their friend into the driver's seat (making it look like the friend was driving) and left. However, unbeknownst to my cousin, their friend was still alive, and they just left them in this car in the middle of winter, exposed to the elements. Eventually, someone found the car and called emergency services. The friend was in a coma for weeks, and upon waking up, told everyone what had really happened, which my cousin denied. So is my cousin lying, or is his friend lying? I have no clue, but every time I attend a family function and have to see that cousin, I feel wildly uncomfortable."
2. "My second cousin put a curse on her brother's family while they were in the courtroom. I believe she was being sued because her dog bit her nephew."
3. "My aunt’s husband has exhibited really inappropriate behavior toward some of my younger cousins. Nobody has spoken up because my aunt blindly defends her husband. (She has little education, only up to third grade.) I’ve always told my sisters to be aware that some male family members exhibit inappropriate behavior and to never be afraid to speak up. Unfortunately, on both my mom’s and dad’s sides, there are men who are abusive, anti-gay, disrespectful toward women, and some who have shown predatory behavior."
4. "My aunt was married several times. One of her husbands was a man we'll call George. During her marriage to George, her daughter and son lived with her. We'll call the daughter Chrissy. Chrissy and George got along great when Chrissy was a teenager. Nobody thought anything of it until my aunt came home from work and caught them in bed together. I was told Chrissy was 18 at the time, but it's likely this happened when she was 17, and everyone just wanted to avoid a legal issue. Either way, Chrissy became pregnant with her stepfather's baby, and my aunt divorced him. Chrissy and George were then married and raised a family together; I believe Chrissy ended up divorcing him, too."
"Several years later, my aunt once again found herself at the center of family drama when she fell in love with her married second cousin and began having an affair with him while his wife had cancer.
At the wife's funeral, they were seen cuddling and being handsy, to the point where the man's own sister boxed his ears in front of everyone and told him to act right. They were married a couple of years later; they're still married."
5. "I wondered why so many of my cousins and uncles seemed a bit strange for quite a while now, and recently found out that almost a third of my mother's side of the family is incest. The only real upside is she was actually adopted, so she's safe."
6. "I found out after my dad had passed away that he'd violently forced my grandfather to pay to have him released from the Royal Air Force before his time was up. My grandfather did so, and then wrote my father out of his will, which somewhat pissed my father off. Years later, when my father worked for The London Underground as a foreman, he was, one night, tied up by robbers. Hmm, karma."
7. "My uncle sexually assaulted someone when he was 15, and the woman came out 40 years later. This split the family in two, with people on either side."
8. "The second time my aunt divorced my uncle (yes, they were married twice), it was to run off with the CEO of a major sex toy/video production company. You’ve probably shopped on the website before. Anyway, after that fizzled out, she came home to the mansion, and they got married again for the third time, 25-ish years ago."
9. "My mom's birth-giver, 'Amanda,' abandoned her family in 1964. She left my grandpa to raise seven kids by himself. Amanda left for California and met and married a politician, 'Bill.' In 2003, one of his sisters hired a private investigator because Amanda's story never matched up all these years, and Bill was considering a higher political office. She just wanted to avoid a scandal, but the PI found out that not only had Amanda lied about her past, but my Grandpa was also her second husband that she was still legally married to! It turns out that the two oldest boys she abandoned with my Grandpa were her first husband's kids. Bill was shocked and filed for an annulment right away."
10. "My ex poisoned my daughter against me. All court hearings are firmly in my and my child's favor, yet that evil woman continues to disobey the court. It's now my daughter's birthday, and I can't even send her a card."
"I’m 54, and this happened to me years ago. I’m so sorry you have been through that. I hope yours gets better; mine never did."
11. "My sister is my uncle's kid, not my dad's. So technically, she’s my cousin. The fun part is that her cousin (full-blood brother) looks identical to her. It’s like, where did this brunette girl come from? We’re all light-haired. Her biological dad (my uncle) died when she was little. She says that, regardless, the man who raised her (my biological dad) will always be who she considers her dad. She’s been great with it. She hasn’t told anyone except our brother and me. She said that knowing Uncle Jon was her dad doesn’t matter or change anything."
12. "My uncle was married, had three kids, then cheated and divorced. Then, he got another woman pregnant, and my grandparents paid her off to leave. My uncle got married and had three more kids after that. He cheated a couple of times, that we know of. Who knows how many cousins I have out there by him?"
13. "My uncle is gay, though he has never openly confirmed it, except to those he trusts. Most of my family members are anti-gay, which complicates the situation."
14. "My aunt and uncle were married for years. Around the same time, they both stepped out of the marriage and had kids with their other partners. They hid both kids from the family, so no one knew about these two cousins until years later. The only reason they were exposed was that my aunt liked to record her fights with my uncle, and one of the kids heard the recording a few years ago. Apparently, she left to 'help' her mom for a while and left the baby with her friends to raise as their own. She’d visit her daughter and tell her she was friends with her parents. Sounds wild, but it’s true!"
15. "My family has spent years slagging me off behind my back — discussing my business and gossiping. It's almost an entertainment to discover what else I'm going to get up to."
16. "In my family, my great, great, great grandpappy was so mean, he once shot a man just for snoring too loud."
Suddenly, my family's drama feels like a tiny inconvenience compared to these horror stories! As grateful as I am that these folks were willing to spill the tea, I'm even more grateful that I don't have anything to add to this list. After all, drama is so much more fun from the outside!
Does your family have a story that belongs on this list? Let me know below!
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
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