“My Entire Life Is Built On A Lie”: 58 Anonymous Confessions Folks Could Never Say Out Loud

There is a reason for everything.

I will never forget how this white woman made me feel. April 2016. 10pm at night and I get a little hungry and decide to head to the nearest store to grab some food. It would be closer to walk than to drive so I head out the door and proceed to walk the two blocks to the store.

The streets are quiet and empty and to the far distance, I see a white woman park her car and walk to her apartment entrence. She sees me from the corner of her eye and I can tell she's nervous. She proceeds to put the key in the door lock to open but by this time she is shaking and drops the key. By then, I've gotten closer and am only about 20 feet away from her. She looks at me terror-stricken and begins to scream from the top of her lungs, banging on the door for help. I proceed to walk right past her and head to the store.

I didn't do anything. I was just a black man walking to get some food. And for some reason, I couldn't help but think I was the one in the wrong. I felt guilty for making her feel so scared.

From then on, anytime I come across a woman at night, I walk to the other side of the street so she feels safe and isn't threatened by me. It's sad this is what I have to resort to but until black people stop being labeled and stereotyped, myself along with other black men in this country will have to resort to similar measures.

I’m white, now husband to an Asian girl. Both she and her family are superstitious, and they told her she has to go and see if we are an astrological match based on Chinese astrology. I’m a person that is very rational and doesn’t like to leave things to chance. We had already been dating for a year and things were getting serious when the topic came up. By that time, I was already deeply emotionally invested in this relationship, and when I began to realise that for her, the astrological match was a potential dealbreaker, I panicked, and knew I could not just gamble on it working or not.

So I told her we will go to Chinatown and see a fortune teller (I’m sure there are more sophisticated words for them, but honestly, I don’t care much for them or their profession).

The day before, I secretly went to Chinatown, met a fortune teller with a good reputation, and paid her $400 to tell my now wife that our astrology and whatnot is perfectly compatible.

The next day we went to said fortune teller, and she did as asked. Even printed out some report sheet that details why we are such a great match.

I am happily married now, our first child is on the way, and I have zero regrets.

My best friend, Dave, passed away from cancer six years ago. His biggest fear on his deathbed was that his twelve-year-old son, Leo, wouldn't be able to afford college. Dave worked three blue-collar jobs and his wife had passed years before. They literally had zero savings. I promised Dave I would take care of it, but I knew Leo was way too proud to accept direct charity from me. He is just like his dad.

So, last year I worked with a local community foundation to set up a fake, private memorial scholarship. I funded the entire thing myself with $80,000. I made the application process look incredibly official and competetive. Leo applied and last week he received his acceptance letter stating he "won" the award.

He called me crying tears of joy, telling me that his late night study sessions finally paid off. i had to choke back my own tears while pretending to be completely shocked. He genuinely believes his own academic merit earned him this free ride.

I am confessing this here because I can never tell another soul. If he ever finds out it was just me handing him a check, it would completely shatter his confidence and make him feel like a charity case. I want him to go to university believing he earned every single bit of it. It is the hardest secret I have ever had to keep.

My mom has really had a hard time the past few years. When she entered menopause she gained weight and no matter how much she works out or what diet she tries she cannot drop it.

She is a wonderful person, beautiful inside and out, but I could tell it was really taking a toll on her. So I started (lightly) photoshopping pictures I take of her before I send them to anyone or print them. I just nip a little here and there, slight reshaping. and smoothing out a few wrinkles, nothing drastic, but enough.

Since I have started this she has started acting more confidently and has stopped making negative remarks about pictures she is in. She loves being in pictures with everyone again.

It has really helped. I have not told anyone and never will.

15 years of marriage, traditionally my wife is someone who doesn't like to be touched while they sleep. Usually She wakes up like it's a 5 alarm fire if even my feet touch her sometimes.

Her lower back problems have started up again and she's been sleeping with my arm as a pillow but for a couple weeks now it's progressed into her sleeping with her head on my chest and leg and arms across me, essentially using me as a body pillow/teddy bear. We don't know why this relieves the pain, but it helps her to fall asleep. She used to wake me up and ask for my arm, but two times this week I've woken up to the full on body pillow style snugs.

When I was a lonely teenager I used to put my free weights inside my pillow and lay them on top of me so I would know what it would feel like to have someone lay on you that way. This is literally my dream come true.

I don’t keep a lot of secrets from my wife and family as a father of three beautiful kids who I love to death. But sometimes, in secret, I’ll plan a day when all of my kids will be at school and my wife will be working a full day.

i get up early, make breakfast, walk the dogs, take the kids to school, and then tell my wife I’m heading off to work. Right as she’s about to leave, I circle the block, go back home, call in sick, and just sleep in on PTO for the entire day.

It’s honestly some of the happiest days of my life being able to go back to sleep at like 8:30 in the morning and sleep straight through until about 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. It’s amazing. It's a secret I'll take to my grave with me. My wife has yet to catch on.

Karma is [real] mom and dad. Thanks for always putting me in the middle of your drama as a kid. So sad that you two found it amusing to act like children while forcing me into being the adult.

Well now the tables have turned. You're both old and in need of someone to take care of you. Obviously wasnt going to be me.

Hope you two enjoy seeing each other for the rest of your miserable lives and you can figure it out.

Waiting to get the phone call of "Did you know your mother/father is in the same nursing home?!":' )

Ah, I'm gonna sit back now and enjoy my cold one.

Because when I reveal that I’m a woman, my comments are taken less seriously by Redditors and I receive harsher replies.

Two years ago I landed a senior engineering job that more than doubled my income. I went from barely scraping by on forty-five grand to making over one hundred and forty thousand a year.

i have not told a single soul in my family.

I grew up in a household where money was a constant weapon. Anytime someone had twenty extra dollars in their checking account, three different cousins or my dad would show up with an emergency sob story demanding a loan that never got paid back. If you said no, you were labeled selfish and frozen out of family holidays.

So I made a choice. I still drive my beat-up 2011 Honda with the squeaky fan belt. When my family talks about rising rent or how expensive eggs are at Sunday dinner, I nod along, complain about my budget, and act like I am one bad paycheck away from disaster.

Meanwhile I max out my retirement accounts and put thousands away into index funds every month.

I feel like a fake everyday of my life sitting at their table lying to their faces, but I know that telling the truth would DESTROY my peace forever. I should of been able to share my success with the people who raised me. Why does money have to turn family into parasites?

Got into an argument which lead him to say “I could care less about you. If you [passed away] tomorrow, I wouldn’t go to your funeral”. I didn’t say anything back, just never spoke to him again. He’s tried to contact me several times since, but I want those to be the last words he’s ever said to me.

We aren't like best friends but we know each other pretty well. Today I noticed a pic. from my city someone posted, So I clicked on their user name and started snooping, wondering if I could figure out if I knew them and Holy Moly I sure do. How you may ask, well he...yes he, he post a lot of picture on another sub of his dog and newish adopted cat (didn't know he had a cat but this will be important soon). I started reading his comments/posts and I feel so bad for him. First of all the love of his life past a few years ago, and he came upon a little dog and he fell in love with this at the most 6lbs Chihuahua (named baby), Picture a 56year old, 6 foot 4inch biker dude with a beard that hangs down to his chest that carries a small Chihuahua in his jacket pocket or in the summer the dog goes in a fanny pack and rides with the dog on his motorcycle. It's the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Why is this sad, well like I said, I didn't know he had a cat. After reading his post its clear he has kept the info about the cat a secret, cause people made fun of him with such a small dog for his size. he told me one time about how much baby had help him after his wife past, he talked, he cried and hugged baby and if it wasn't for this little doggy he would've/and planned to [end his life]. He said he planned to ride to Colorado and drive off a mountain. In the post of pic's he found this kitten wet, cold and starving. Took the cat to the vet for all its shots and he talks so passionately about his new love. I'm thinking about sending him a message on the pretense of just checking up on him since its been before Thanksgiving since I spoke to him. hoping he will say something about the cat, so I can reassure him he has nothing to hide. but I'm not sure how to really approach this subject or just leave it alone. This man has a heart of gold who helps anyone no matter what he's doing he'll stop just to listen or give a helping hand.

now before anyone asked about how do I know for sure its him. I know his house and yard, in the pic's I noticed items that are in his house, his back patio with the same furniture and a smoker (that he built, it's a one of a kind) plus a ring that he always wears.
I"m not even sure if I have posted this on the right sub, if this is the wrong sub. sorry please forgive me.

EDIT: Thanks everyone, I did text him, Just with HI how have you been? we need to hang out some time for a couple of beers. And guess what!! he told me about the black kitten he found in Kansas on a work trip. He so proud of that little thing. He named her Momma, cause she gives him the same side look his wife would give him and that was what his nickname was for his wife.LOL. We are meeting up this weekend at our old beer joint in town. I'm happy for him, he seems like he's in a good place now.

26f. I was picked up by a stranger from school posing to be my dad's friend. Saying that he would drop me off to the airport to catch a flight with my dad. Not only did I actually have to travel with my dad that day, but this man somehow knew my dad was getting off early from work (he told me that morning) and that he had to go fishing with his friend (he did this a lot).

He told me that my dad sent him to pick me up and meet him directly at the airport. I believed him, convinced my teachers I knew him (because I was excited to go the airport) and left with him.

I was held in captivity for 3 years. I was [hurt], beaten, starved. 11 year old me had learnt to make him trust me. It started with us going around in his car, although I had to sit in the backseat and stay quiet the whole time. He let me come into his kitchen and make food for myself, he let me clean his house. The day we went to feed the ducks at the park I ran. I ran as fast as my weak legs could carry me, because of the crowd; I think he lost me.

I begged a family for help, telling them I was kidnapped and I wanted to go home. I told them my name, my school's name and my parents' names.

Long story short; they caught him, he [ended his life]. I was back with my dad, my sisters, my dogs. I'm now happily married to my wife of 4 years, still undergoing therapy, have a good job, and a baby on the way.

Me (29M) and my partner (28F) met 8 years ago just before I graduated and we clicked almost immediately. A few months after I graduated, she and her 3 year old son moved in with me. Right after graduating, I started making low 6 figures working for a large bank and then went on to do my own thing having a very lucrative career. My income was more than enough to support the 3 of us so I was comfortable letting her stay home, work on her hobbies and volunteering.

I thought our relationship was going well, she's been pressing me to get married for the last 4 years but the time never seemed right because I wanted to get my own business off of the ground first and she seemed comfortable with that. Last week, she asked me what I thought about open relationships and whether we could open ours. I know why she asked, I spend a lot of time travelling for work and she probably wants some action on the side while I'm away working, hell she might already have something on the side. I knew right then we were done but I needed to find out how screwed I was before pulling the trigger.

I set up a meet with a lawyer my friend knew and I have to admit I was scared, I'd heard stories of how men were raked over the coals in divorces all the time so I walked into the lawyer's office expecting to lose 50% of everything and more. At first things looked bleak but then he asked how long we had been married. When I told him that we weren't married, he called me "The luckiest mf to ever walk into his office". Common law marriage doesn't exist here which means that when we split up, she gets precisely...nothing...zero...zip...nada. I'm trying to figure out the best time to tell her we're done but that's all I have to say. Not getting married was the smartest decision I've ever made.

I just had no idea. I had a bath once maybe twice a week, and thought that was standard. It wasn't until I went to a boarding school that I realised people would usually shower daily.

Thing is, I grew up in quite an isolated location in a foreign country with only my sister and alcoholic mum. My mum didn't so much clean the house or cook food, she just drank. My sister and I weren't really clued up on what normal families did. For as long as I remember, I cooked the stuff I could, washed my own clothes, if my mum was too wasted I would cycle (about 5 miles up steep hills) to school, and generally looked after myself. I didn't know how often people changed bedsheets or brushed their teeth. Simple things you'd usually learn from family went a miss. I didn't even know how to wash dishes manually since we had a dishwasher.

It was a weirdly embarrassing moment learning how different I'd been living before boarding school. I learnt how to open bottles with a pair of keys for my mum whilst she drove before I learnt that you shouldn't drink and drive. I knew we grew up a bit different, but entering the normal world was a big eye-opener.

We’ve been together almost three years. We live together. I support us 100%. In the time we’ve been together, he’s worked maybe two months.

He’s depressed and anxious and he steals all the oxygen and joy out of every room. He never wants to go anywhere but then complains that we never go anywhere. I got him an interview at my work - a moderately well paid entry level position. He refused to go, saying he wasn’t ready. Then spends time complaining about not having a job. You get the idea.

Everything in our lives revolves around him and his moods. He cries, yells or just sighs incessantly. There’s no laughter or happiness in our home. I walk on eggshells all the time. I dread coming home from work. He grabbed me a few days ago and shook me so hard I’m bruised on my upper arms.

The apartment is in my name, but he literally has no where to go because he has no friends and he refuses to contact his family. So he’d be homeless and I can’t do that to him (or any human really). I fantasize about being alone all the time. Like only cooking or shopping or doing anything just for myself. It would be incredible. To be able to breathe again.

His birthday was last week and I saved up for a month to get him something related to his hobby. When I gave it to him, he said “i just told you I didn’t want to do this anymore. What were you thinking?” I think at that point any love I still felt for him just died.

He doesn’t cook, clean, care for his dog or do anything but play video games. I’m trapped in a prison and I just don’t really care what happens to me anymore.

I don’t want to [end this], but I wouldn’t be upset if I didn’t wake up tomorrow, if that makes sense. I know what i should do but I’m just dumb.

Thanks for reading. Typing it out helps.

My ex used to use a specific shampoo and over time i noticed that every time i smell this shampoo on other people i automatically think of her and this got me planning..

For my current girlfriend, every time we got down to business i put on a cologne that i saved specifically for those times. No matter how spontaneous the action was, i found the time to put on a puff or two of this perfume secretly and then continue.

After weve been going on for couple months, i began to do tests - i put this perfume on when casually walking in the kitchen past her, and just sat down in the living room. Soon enough, after couple minutes she got here and initiated [intimacy]!

Now i use it ocassionally (im very careful not to overuse it so it doesnt spoil the effect) when i want to get hee going, and it works well enough:)

My favorite is putting it on before going out to a public place, and watching her get super worked up and unload at home.

When i was younger my mom talked to me about how my online footprint could affect my future and i started crying bc i thought i would never be able to get a job bc i looked up cheat codes for lego star wars TCS.

I hate him so much, the thought of him winning the lottery and having to split it with me makes me so happy:).

Girlfriend and I got into an argument over our kids Christmas spending budget. We both have a kid from a previous relationship. Her daughter and my Son. We have an agreed budget of $1000 for each kid. We have met that budget for both kids last week.

Today she tells me she wants to get her daughter a phone and wants to buy her an iPhone XS Max easily putting her daughter close to $1200 over our agreed Christmas budget.

We have a shared bank account so it’s not quite the “it’s her daughter and her money so what’s the deal” kinda thing.. we argued for three days over the issue, we couldn’t afford to spend another $1200 on my son to even out the budgets again at a ludicrous $2200 each.. my son would have never if know we spent an extra money on her but that’s not the point.. it’s unfair and in my opinion it’s favoritisms..

After another very heated argument over the issue. I walked over to the tree, grabbed her present. Opened it in front of her, and then rewrapped it and addressed it to my son. Now the budgets are mostly equal again give or take $100...

My 13 year old [passed away] in Peru after getting caught in a whirlpool. We were on vacation. His mom (my ex) blamed me and our other son also blames me so he doesn't speak to me. He's now 13 too. I don't force him to see me. When I drive home from work, I pretend that I am talking to my son about how his day was at school, what kind of music he wants to listen to, what he wants for dinner, etc. That is why I haven't gotten a new car. There are just too many memories.