For 30 years, a father had raised his five beautiful children, never once questioning if they were his own. But one day, everything changed. His eldest daughter came to him with the results of an ancestry test, and the shocking news hit him like a bolt of lightning: he wasn’t her biological father.
The man, who went by the name “Needadvicedesperate” on Reddit, had been married to his high school sweetheart for almost three decades. Together, they had built a seemingly perfect life with their five children. But now, this revelation threatened to tear that life apart.
It all started when his eldest daughter decided to take an ancestry test, just out of curiosity. When she saw the results, she was stunned and immediately went to her father to share them. “Dad,” she said with a shaky voice, “it says here that you’re not my biological father.” Her eyes filled with tears as she handed him the paper. He was devastated but tried to keep his composure.
He knew his daughter was heartbroken, but he also felt a storm of emotions brewing inside him. How could this be true? He had always trusted his wife completely. His whole world seemed to be crumbling around him. But instead of jumping to conclusions, he hugged his daughter and whispered, “No matter what this says, I love you. You’ll always be my daughter.”
Not willing to believe the ancestry test just yet, he and his daughter decided to take a formal paternity test to be sure. But when the results came back, they confirmed his worst fear: he was not her biological father. He felt like the ground had been pulled out from under him.
“Finding out my wife had been unfaithful and seeing how my reaction hurt my daughter was too much,” he admitted later. “I wish I had stayed calm for her, but I couldn’t.”
Overwhelmed and unsure what to do next, he decided to test his other children. All except his youngest daughter, who was only 14. He didn’t want to hurt her or drag her into the mess if he didn’t have to. He wanted to know how long his wife had been unfaithful. “We told the other three what happened,” he explained, “and reassured them of my love. I just needed to know how deep this went.”
Until then, the children had all believed he was their real father. They were shocked, but seeing how much their dad was hurting, they agreed to take the tests. The results came back even worse than he feared: none of the three older children were biologically his, and each had a different father. The man felt his heart break a little more with each result.
He knew he couldn’t keep the truth from his youngest daughter forever. If she found out some other way, it would hurt even more. It seemed clear to him now that his wife had not just one affair but several, over many years. It was a huge emotional blow. He confronted his wife, hoping she would finally admit what she had done and ask for forgiveness.
When he showed her the results, his wife just shrugged them off. “These tests could be wrong,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Do you really not trust me after all these years?” She tried to make him feel guilty, as if he was the one who had done something wrong.
But he stood firm. He was struggling to find a way to support his children while dealing with this huge betrayal. Most of all, he didn’t want to hurt his youngest daughter too soon. Feeling lost, he turned to Reddit, asking the community for advice. He was desperate to find a way to save his marriage, if that was even possible.
One Redditor understood his pain and gave him some tough advice: “Your wife had multiple affairs and children with different men and can’t even admit it when caught. But don’t rush to leave. There’s a lot we don’t know about your life. Take some time to think this through.”
The father replied, explaining that he was mainly worried about how all of this would affect his youngest daughter. He wanted to protect her and do what was best for her.
Another user, pancakeday, advised him to be honest with his youngest daughter. “Keeping the truth from her will only hurt more later,” they said. “You’re letting your wife control the story. You need to protect your kids from her, not the truth.”
Many others told him to make sure his children knew he loved them no matter what. Redditor Hanh2 reminded him, “Don’t stay in an unhappy marriage just because it’s been a long time. Think about what’s best for you and the kids.”
After reading all the comments and advice, the father thought deeply about his situation. He realized that his whole life had been built around his wife and their family. But now, he needed to make a change.
He decided to get second tests done just to be sure, and he promised himself he would tell his youngest daughter the truth when the time was right, though he wouldn’t make her take a test unless she wanted to. If his wife didn’t change, he resolved to file for divorce.
In the end, he understood that what mattered most was his relationship with his children, whether or not they were biologically his. He knew he had to put their well-being first, above everything else.