What’s a deep secret that runs in your family?

It's not really a secret, but it's not exactly the kind of thing people just talk about: * My father committed suicide when I was 3. * My first step father committed suicide when I was 12. * My brother committed suicide when I was 28. (He was 36 or so) * I'm the only male still alive in my family that has my last name.
— silentknight111

My grandmother shot her abusive second husband to death in his sleep.
— PompatusOfLove

My great grandfather on my mom's side was an EOD tech in WW2. He was also not allowed to carry a gun. Why wasn't he allowed to carry a gun? We asked grandma. He caught his neighbor in bed with his first wife while coming home from a hunting trip. Shot them both and turned himself in. While in prison was offered out if he signed up with the army on condition that he didn't get a gun.
— SalAtWork

My grandmother romanticized it, probably because to some degree her mother romanticized it, but I am pretty sure that my great grandfather tracked my great grandmother across a hundred miles, then seduced her when she was 14, after meeting her just once and that was how they ended up married.
— scarletnightingale

My great uncle molested girls in the family. My mom was molested by him but for some reason we still went to the family reunion he hosted at the lake every year. I don’t know if it was a secret amongst family or if no one except the girls molested knew but it wasn’t talked about. Someone talked last year though and he’s in prison now.
— 1inakrillion

My grandmother was an insanely dogmatic Catholic. She did not like any of the partners that her kids brought home and eventually married. (One of my aunts never married; we're pretty certain she was a lesbian.) She was very much against anything that ran against Catholic teaching, especially when it came to sex, marriage, family structures, etc. She died in 1993 at the age of 97 and we were certain that she probably had sex exactly seven times, once for each kid. That's why it was kind of surprising when I was doing family tree research earlier this year and found out my oldest uncle was born two weeks before my grandparents got married. Good one Nana, played the long con for a hundred years. Never expected the Internet though, didya? ;-)
— youseeit

41 years ago, my grandmother had an argument with my grandfather. She ran upstairs, pulled a gun out from a drawer and killed herself. (I was 2, so I have no memory of this) My dad was HIV positive, and had HIV dementia. Never had any sort of major surgery or blood transfusions. Privately, I've wondered to my wife about Dad stepping out on Mom. . .and by some fucking miracle Mom never did catch it. We kept Dad's condition a secret. My 2 sisters and their spouses knew, along with me and my wife, plus Mom. Giant dirty top secret.
— J_G_B

My cousin* is adopted. Everyone in the family, along with their neighbors and family friends, knows this. He doesn't. He's turning 32. *edit: he's my (much younger) cousin, not nephew
— Raptor01

My great great great grandpa was part of the KKK and blew up African Americans churches. He eventually changed his way after meeting my great great great grandmother who lived in West Virginia and actually participated in the Underground Railroad. Something we don't really tell people.
— WillAndSky

Tomorrow when we go have dinner with my uncle, we're all supposed to pretend that he didn't let his wife starve their daughter to death. It was a tragic accident that "just happened" and nothing could be done.
— paleo2002

My grandparents had 6 children and there's a large age gap between child #2 and child #3 because my grandfather went to prison for having an affair with an underage girl at the church they attended. My grandma didnt tell this story until after my grandfather passed away and my aunt found a news clipping in my grandfather's things as they were cleaning out his closet. Also, my mother's oldest sister's husband molested her from the age of 6 until she was 12 and he did it to other younger members of the family for years and years without anyone coming forward. During a family reunion, it was very obvious that a lot of mothers were keeping their children far away from this guy and later that night my mother was catching up with some of her cousins and sisters when the secret slipped and half of the group had fallen prey to this sick man. No one has said anything to my aunt about her pedo husband even though they had three daughters and now have several grandchildren that stay with them. It's been suspected that he did something to his oldest daughter because she doesn't come around anymore but no one is willing to say anything because they are afraid it will devastate my aunt....no one even cares about the kids.
— sevensevensixseven

We know where the bodies are buried. All of them in the local area. I'm the third generation of grave-site historians in my family.
— Dedj_McDedjson

My great grandfather was partly responsible for Japanese internment in CA during WWII. He unwittingly caused some flashing lights during a blackout that were interpreted as signals from onshore Japanese spies. The mixup would have been apparent to him pretty quickly, but he chose not to correct anyone, and instead swore his family to secrecy about what happened.
— SuperiorHedgehog

It's fairly well known that my grandfather (on my father's side) molested my aunt. What isn't well known is that his wife, my grandmother, caught him in the act multiple times. She made him "go to the doctor" about it, and then looked the other way as it continued for the rest of my aunt's childhood. My uncle (father's brother) also had an inappropriate relationship with a minor. He didn't serve time, but did spend 20+ years on the sex offender registry. For a bunch of holier-than-thou Christians, they sure aren't holier than most people.
— boiiwings

Top 10 Answers