We often expect to know everything about our partners before marriage, but sometimes shocking secrets come out later. One man discovered his wife was seven years older than she claimed when they filled out paperwork for their kids. Another found out his wife had been married before and was still tied to her ex’s debts. A woman learned her husband came from a very wealthy family even though he chose to live a modest life.
Some secrets are about personal struggles. One person found out their partner has aphantasia, a condition where you can’t picture images in your mind. Another man met his late wife’s two grown sons—whom she had abandoned—only at her funeral. One woman discovered her husband’s first divorce was never finalized, making their own marriage invalid.
There were also lies that completely changed relationships, like a man who faked having terminal leukemia to rush into marriage, or a husband who found out his wife had a child she never told him about until a custody battle arose. After 12 years of marriage, one man learned his wife had been secretly battling an eating disorder since high school. Another husband discovered through a DNA test that his wife had a rare genetic condition she’d never mentioned, affecting their plans to have children.
Some people hide the truth out of fear or to protect their loved ones, but when these secrets finally come to light, they can change everything in a relationship.