This Redditor was sick of lying to her innocent niece, so even when everyone was against her, she told her the truth about her parents! Was she out of line?
Unique Family Situation
OP (Original Poster) has two sisters she calls Kim and Jane in this post. Kim sadly got sick and died a few years back, but she was first able to give birth to her daughter, Laura, who is currently 18 years old.
A year after OP’s sister, Kim, died, Laura’s dad, Tom, announced that he would be getting married to her sister, Jane. She mentioned that everyone was surprised, but no one was as disgusted at the situation as she was.
What Convenient Timing!
OP accused the two of cheating. However, the couple explained that no such thing happened; they didn’t plan on falling in love.
They also said they were sure that Kim would have been happy for them, but OP disagreed. In her post, she said, “Convenient since she’s, you know, dead.”
Erasing Memories of Her Beloved Sister
She was so mad at the couple, and how everyone just accepted their relationship, so she didn’t attend their wedding.
What hurt OP the most was that the couple deliberately tried to erase Kim from Laura’s life.
A Replacement Mom
OP mentioned that Laura was barely two years old when Kim died, and Tom and Jane decided it would be best if Jane would be considered her mother in every sense of the word, especially after the adoption was finalized.
It Was Like She Never Existed
Tom made everyone in his family swear that they would never tell Laura who her real mom was. He also got rid of everything in their house that would remotely suggest he and Kim were in a relationship.
The Same Request
Jane requested the same from their family. However, OP didn’t want to agree and follow their demands.
She refused, so Jane and Tom cut off her access to Laura.
She Can Never Honor the Lie
Of course, OP was sad that she couldn’t see her niece grow up, but she was not bending either.
She shared, “It hurt, but when I thought about all those times Kim cried knowing that she wouldn’t live long enough to see Laura grow up, there was just no way I could honor the lie.”
Changing Her Birth Name
OP said the couple even changed Laura’s name to something Jane liked. She said that Kim named Laura, and it seems this fact made it harder for her to accept the change.
Trying to Make Them Reconcile
Because of everything happening, OP distanced herself from her family over time. Even though that’s the case, their parents tried to make them reconcile.
They said accepting the arrangement was much better than being completely removed from Laura’s life. However, OP wouldn’t budge; she couldn’t betray Kim like that.
Her Relationship With Her Niece
As a consequence, OP didn’t have a close relationship with Laura. She said Laura knew of her, but they never interacted; the last time OP saw her was when she was seven, but they didn’t talk either.
Looking for Advice
One day, Laura found her and reached out to her through social media because she was interested in a field OP was working in. From then on, they would talk from time to time.
It came to a point that Laura asked why OP wasn’t around. In her post, OP shared, “I tried to keep it vague, but Laura knew that there was more to the story as I didn’t seem like the person I was described to be.”
Spilling the Beans
OP said she probably wouldn’t have told Laura the truth if they were chatting via DMs. However, when they switched to video calls, and she was looking directly into Laura’s eyes, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and told her the truth.
She also told Laura that she and Kim made a series of videos before she died; it was meant for Laura to watch during her milestones in life. OP asked her if she wanted to watch some, and she did; OP sent some videos over and hadn’t heard from Laura in days.
An Enraged Couple
A few days after the revelation, she got a call from an angry Tom and Jane. They were blaming OP for ruining their family!
They said that after watching the videos, Laura confronted them, and they eventually told her the truth. After that, Laura moved out and wasn’t not talking to anyone; they didn’t even know where she was.
What a Mess
It was a mess, but eventually, Laura reached out to OP and her grandparents. They now know where she is, and she is safe.
Kim’s Legacy
OP also added that their parents talked about Kim to Laura; it’s just that she didn’t know Kim was her birth mother. OP also remained in contact with her parents because she knew they were coerced to follow Jane and Tom’s decision.
She also shared that Kim left some letters for Laura, but Tom destroyed them along with the final edits of the videos she sent Laura. He just wasn’t aware that she had some of them hidden away, and she only found them while organizing some things.
What Redditors Think
People believe that it’s Tom and Jane who should be considered a**holes—not OP. A top commenter said, “Taking away every bit of her mother and pretending she never existed, taking away the name her mother gave her—those are a**hole moves.”
This was backed up by someone who said, “They completely erased that girl’s mother from her life—a mother who was not in her life at no fault of her own.”
Everyone Deserves to Know Who Their Parents Are
Redditors also want to reassure OP that she did the right thing by telling her niece who her real mom is.
One person commented, “There were so many ways they could have spun the tale, kept her mother’s memory alive but made her feel so loved and wanted. Instead, they went so far as to even change her name. She deserved to know the truth and see those videos.”
What Would You Do?
Would you also tell Laura the truth if you were in her aunt’s shoes? Do you think Tom and Jane could still make things right?
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This post first appeared as She Couldn’t Hide the Truth Anymore, so She Told Her Niece Her Real Mom Was Actually Her Late Aunt and Her Biological Dad Married Her Late Mom’s Sister! on Quote Ambition.
