12 people reveal how they found out their dad had a 'second family'

• Sometimes individuals find out that one of their parents had another family besides their own.
• In some cases, individuals discover this by having a shared name as someone else.
• Other times, they discovered that their father had another family (or multiple other families) using DNA tests or by seeing their father with another child. 

Sometimes, married individuals decide to start second families and keep them a secret from some of their loved ones. But in some cases, it's only a matter of time until the truth comes out — and the truth can come out in some surprising ways. 

Here are 12 stories from Reddit users about how they or someone in their life discovered their father had a second family. 

"After my parents' 10-year anniversary church wedding, someone called the church registrar saying that she was the legal wife."

"After my parents' 10-year anniversary church wedding, someone called the church registrar saying that she was the legal wife. The secretary from the registrar proceeded to call my mom to inform her about it. My mom did investigations on her own a full week after the event.

"She eventually found out that my dad had a daughter with his mistress and he had been staying with them five days a week. His excuse was always, 'Work is hectic so I might as well stay at someone's place.' Yeah, right. Mom decided to end the relationship and the whole family was in chaos."— Reddit user soleillie18

"Two families showed up at the funeral."

"[When my friend's dad died,] two families showed up at the funeral. Guy had two wives and five kids total. No one knew anything; it was a huge shock and it basically messed up everyone involved.

"Many years later, my friend is close and has a good relationship with his half-siblings but his mom and sisters never really got over it and pretend they don't exist ..."— Reddit user Aneley13

"When I was looking at his tax return, it showed a girl's name as a dependent."

"I found out my dad had a daughter after my parents divorced. When I was 18 looking at his tax return for college financial aid, it showed a girl's name as a dependent. I never asked him about it until a few years back when she contacted me on social media asking if I was her brother."— Reddit user brandnvsworld