Probably, there are men out there who always wanted to have a little kid with their partner. However, some guys accidentally become fathers.
Imagine admiring, raising, and loving a kid you and your partner had. Suddenly, a piece of paper with a result showed that one is not your kid.
These people from the Reddit community appeared to experience that scenario and shared their rollercoaster stories. Check these out!
1. Worst Email
When I was in the Navy, I had an on-again, off-again relationship with a girl back home.
On my last deployment, my girlfriend told me via email that she was knocked up; I accepted it, emailed my parents, and told the military all that jazz.
I ended up getting discharged, so I went back home and took care of "my" pregnant girlfriend. She had the baby, and I thought I was the father for five months. While she was on vacation with a "girlfriend."
While she was gone, I got an email from her boyfriend telling me they had been together for the last four months, and also, for the week in Myrtle Beach, I was bankrolling. After that, I got the paternity test, found out it wasn't mine, and told her I was done and wanted no contact.
The crappy part is my parents still babysit and treat the kid like their grandkid, so she's at a lot of family functions and such.
Also, the guy wasn't even the father.
initialCRX
2. Attachment Issues
I have a mixed-race child. Originally, I was told it was mine until she actually gave birth. Since she was mixed, she came out pretty light-skinned. Very light-skinned, actually. But as she got older, her skin got darker and darker.
Let the mother stick around for about a year to 2 years. She wasn't from where we lived and had nowhere else to go. I didn't want to kick the baby out into the streets. Finally, I had enough of her crazy personality and kicked her out.
But I ended up getting attached to the little girl.
Fast forward 2 years, and I'm single, lonely, depressed, and missing the little girl. I've had no contact with them. Through the grapevine, I hear my little girl's real dad has nothing to do with her. No contact, no father. From my story, the real dad was married and refused her.
I set up a meeting with my little girl after two years to get a feeling for the situation, and it was like those two years had never happened. She ran up to me like she just saw me yesterday.
I talked to the mother, and I said that I'd take care of her. We never went to court. No child support has ever been filed. We don't fight about anything. I tell her if she needs anything as far as money or clothes, whatever, I'll take care of it.
She's now 10, I'm married, my wife accepts her with open arms and loves her like I do. She's an awesome kid. Great student. No troubles. I have to teach her humility because she is very concerned about being beautiful. But if that's my biggest worry with her, I think that's ok.
I wouldn't change anything at all.
DK__00
3. That Kind Of Girl
So, I'm on the other side of the fence. Basically, I've been dating this girl for about 3 years. Rocky relationship and all that jazz
I broke up with her and moved back to my hometown for a period. While back, she asks if she can come visit, etc. It was my first mistake, but believe me, making out was really golden between us.
Anyway, 2 months after the visit, she is pregnant. It's not the best news in the world, but I'm from a family of certain values on these matters, so I own up. After spending a week with her and discussing what to do, I went back home and started preparing stuff. 3 days later, she calls and claims a miscarriage, and we sort of end it / die out (no pun intended) for the next few weeks.
Fast forward 7 months, and I've moved back to the same city (the capital of Norway, Oslo) and continued my career.
Suddenly, I saw a Facebook post about this girl having a child. 9 months and 2 days after her visit.
It turns out she had been dating another dude for the whole 3 years we had been dating. They even lived together for 2 of the years. She kinda just decided that she "felt better" with him as the dad.
So, basically, she convinced him he was the dad. So he announced to the whole world and was just about to go on fatherly leave when I found out. I quietly ask her for a paternity test, and to no surprise, it's stated with 99,99% that I'm the father.
Things unravel. He is not happy (obviously) and has to tell the world that, nope, just kidding, I'm not a dad. Anyways, 4 years later, it's all good, and we have 50% shared custody, but dayum, it was a few funky months in the start.
corpdani
4. Long Endurance
My boyfriend's daughter is not his. He broke his hand on a door when he found out. But he never once denied her.
He is on her birth certificate and has his last name the whole nine yards. She is his baby girl, and he is her daddy.
End of story. His ex-wife likes to hold it above his head, though, "If you don't do xyz, I'm getting a DNA test on baby, and you'll never see her again."
Burns me up!
Ummmmmyeahno
5. Drunk Confession
It's not my story, but in a way, it turned out for the best. I knew a guy who was sort of "Stuck" with a girl he knocked up, and she made him miserable and turned their daughter into a whiney, spoiled brat who hated him.
One day, the woman gets drunk and laughs at him, telling him how his daughter isn't really his.
He walked out on them, leaving mother and daughter high and dry with no support.
The daughter was too spoiled to get a job and is one of the trashiest people you'll ever encounter. Mom's a drunk.
[deleted]
6. Good Cooperation
Back in college, I was seeing a girl for a while.
Kinda serious, more so for her than me, apparently. She winds up pregnant. I was young and didn't know what to do, but I knew if it was mine, I would do the right thing and be the father.
Major caveat - I have a physical condition that makes it highly unlikely that I can actually get anyone knocked up, and she knew this. (It's a long story and possible identifying info, so I'm leaving the details out)
Anyway, she swears up & down through the whole pregnancy that it could only be mine, so I went along with it. I was out of town the weekend kiddo was born. She tried to reach me, but this was long before cell phones. I had gone home to a different city with a college friend to party (and, in all likelihood, avoided home during that timeframe since I was reasonably sure it wasn't mine).
Kiddo was born, and I went to see them a few times over the next few weeks. Then, shortly after that, I got called by my folks that she had stopped by their house and introduced it to them as their new grandson, etc. They were ecstatic and happy for me and all the fun stuff they anticipated about being new grandparents.
I had to basically put the brakes on really hard at that point and tell them I was pretty sure that it was not my kid.
I pretty much knew after I saw it. One look at it, and there was just no connection at all. It was a baby, but I saw nothing there I recognized as "mine" in any way, shape, or form.
Due to the fact that she was already on the dole, the state mandated a paternity test. I figured I might as well get it over with and showed up for the appointment when they told me to.
Once the results came back, there was a less than 1% chance it was mine. I turned around and never looked back.
I have only seen her twice since then, and it's been 20+ years now, but both times, she was almost in tears trying to apologize to me for doing that back then. I heard through the grapevine who ended up being the actual father, and he already had a few bastards running around, so he was no help to them at all.
Not only that, but his poor health and drug issues put him in an early grave so that poor kid had no father figure growing up.
Thankfully, I kept a level head through the whole ordeal and even got a letter of commendation from the county prosecutor's office saying that they wished even half the potential fathers were half as cooperative as I had been.
Starfire66
7. Lied For A Long Time
I was told he was mine.
I raised him for 8yrs before getting my own paternity test done to find out the truth. I changed his diapers, taught him how to ride his bike, and did basic dad stuff before I knew the truth.
You can't un-love a kid. I'm his dad, and he's my son.
I wouldn't have it any other way. I despise his manipulative, lying mother. I think she holds him back.
incrediblywittyname
8. Completing A Puzzle
I had been dating a girl for three years who I had trusted. I was 18 at the time. She got pregnant. I was relatively safe, but everybody had slip-ups. I took my lumps, agreed to fatherhood, and did the best I could.
During the entirety of the pregnancy, she was pretty absent. She wouldn't talk to me much. Sometimes for months at a time. I thought this was odd. It frustrated me beyond belief.
Anyway, later on, a friend of hers started to work with me. He started to hook up with one of my coworkers. She told me he knew my girlfriend and I was thinking, oh, cool, interesting. Then she told me he banged my girlfriend... Within the last year... I was pissed. I called her up and talked with her.
Apparently, they did sleep together. When we were on some "break." This was entirely made up. The timing didn't match up with the pregnancy, though. So I continued on my way to fatherhood with this soon-to-be mother that was all over the place. Eventually, she gave birth to a little girl.
I wasn't there at the birth because I wasn't told it was happening. A couple of months down the road of trying to contact her, she let me see my girl. It was great. We started talking again and acting like parents.
Well, just to make sure that this new baby girl was mine, I went ahead and had a paternity test. She was a 1% match...and, therefore, was not my daughter. I was appalled. I went to her place and asked her what this was about. She swore up and down if it had to be mine.
DNA is DNA.
She wasn't my little girl, after all. I left her. She was on her knees, crying for me to come back to her apartment. I got a text later that day. She told me she remembered... She got black-out drunk and slept with this guy at a party. She claimed he basically "raped" her. I don't believe this at all.
So, I went through 9 months of pregnancy and 3 months of actual fatherhood before I found out. Now, I don't talk to her at all. I hear rumors occasionally about her. I am glad she is no longer in my life.
Fazinator
9. The Dad
I knew that my father wasn't actually my biological father before he did. My mom thought I should know first, and she had planned to tell him shortly after me, but due to a work trip he went on, I knew for about a week before he did.
Mom told me that she had a one-night stand with a dude while she was dating my dad. He thought the baby was his, so she went with it. The problem was that she didn't tell me he didn't know, so I asked him how he was holding up on a phone call.
It was pretty hard to explain it to him myself. I mean, I couldn't just give him a cliffhanger like that for such a huge announcement like that. Later that week, my neighbor accidentally set himself on fire. Mom and Dad mutually decided to divorce since she basically cheated on him.
There's no real difference between him and me; I still love him like my real dad.
mrwillykb
10. Left Alone
This isn't my story, but it must be noted here.
Seven years ago, my cousin married a lovely girl. She got pregnant, and they bought a house, fully committed to preparing it for their kid. She died due to complications during childbirth, and the kid (Amy) survived.
My cousin spent the next years of his life doing everything possible to provide for his daughter while still being a father, and he used to work evening/night shifts and then take a few naps across the day.
Two years ago, it became apparent that while Amy shared features from her mother, she didn't share features from my cousin. He had a paternity test done, which was negative.
He hasn't told her, and we have no idea who the real father might be, but those who have been told (me, his sister, my mother) have agreed that it doesn't matter.
We're still actively looking into it, just in case of a potential medical issue or something. I don't expect that she'll be told until she is either old enough to understand or old enough to notice the difference.
I've been the "investigator," and I gotta be honest, I'm really starting to dislike Amy's mother.
[deleted]
11. Tough Guy
Not me, but my brother. He had always thought his youngest wasn't his biological, mainly because his ex is a raging witch and mentally unstable, whose true colors came to the fore in their hideous breakup.
Either way, he is a stand-up guy, and he loves his kids more than anything. Now, he couldn't care less if his daughter isn't technically his. Yeah, it hurt like crazy at the time, but he is the only thing standing in the way of that crazy wench utterly wrecking these kids' lives with her selfish and stupid behavior.
Our whole family is right behind him and will do whatever it takes to support them and him.
My niece didn't ask for this, and she will most likely never know. Either way, she has a loving father who adores her and an extended family that wants to see her grow into a wonderful young woman.
My parents were a little bitter about it for a week or so, but in the catalog of crappy things, his ex did getting pregnant by some other dude rates pretty much at the bottom.
ChopsNZ
12. Sad Clarification
I was with someone for five years, and during that time, we had our issues. Being in a relationship together from the ages of 17-22, we, of course, had our "off to live life" moments. Well, she and I were giving it our last try.
A week after the deed, I noticed the signs of pregnancy and told her to get a test. It was positive. However, she then let me know that before we started to get back together, she had been trying to start a family with another man.
My father, who had raised my half-brother and me so alike that we never knew he wasn't my brother's biological dad, had set an example for me that family is the most important thing in life. So, I accepted the fact that I could be a dad, and I was willing to do everything I could.
After nine months of trying to be there for her while she bounced between the other man and me, her doctor had "advised" her that I was most likely the father of the child. So, I became the prominent father to everyone in her life at this point.
I was overwhelmed with joy that I would become a father and I could try to be the best I could be.
A month after the baby was born, she wanted to clarify who the father of the baby was, so we took a test. I was holding the child in my arms when I received the email.
I looked at the "0%" at the bottom of the results.
Devastated, I showed it to her. She replied, "Well, I should tell the other guy." Her mom and I insisted on raising the child without telling him he had a terrible addiction, but her idea of a perfect family was both biological parents.
So that was the last day I had a daughter.
I went through two terribly depressing years. She would wave the child in my face when she wanted attention, and things never worked out between us after that. I always felt like I had done something wrong and that I let the child down.
I had to constantly remind myself that even if I felt like she was my child, she wasn't, and nothing could ever give that back to me. I'm getting through it with the help of a wonderful new girlfriend and incredible friends, but when a man makes a connection with a child, it's the strongest love they will ever feel.
poffolopolous
13. A Guy’s Love
I know a guy who found out his daughter was not his biological (after raising her for a few years).
He used that as proof in court that the mother was not trustworthy and unfit to be a mother in order to get full custody. He loves her, and she is his daughter, not by blood, but he is definitely the father and loves her very much.
CJGeringer
14. Charity Guy
My neighbor is an amazing single dad to two children, and he confessed that he's not sure if they are or not. He says it doesn't matter anymore; they are his children, and he loves them, blood or not.
His ex-fiancee pretty much had her way with the whole neighborhood. She had a kid with my neighbor, then had another kid with a guy down the street (and my neighbor forgave her,) and then had another kid with my neighbor.
One day, she leaves for another neighbor's brother, leaving all three kids to be raised by their fathers. She now plays house with her husband's 6 kids (who were abandoned on him by their Mom.)
She tried to get custody over a year ago and was denied but given two weekends a month.
[deleted]
15. Rollercoaster Scenario
My kids had run into their real father on MySpace and invited me out to a nice restaurant. When they told me they had something serious to reveal, and they'd invited me here so I wouldn't make a scene, I started to worry that they were banging each other, but then my ex-wife showed up.
Anyway, once we got settled down, they told me about how their real father had contacted them on MySpace and had dozens of pictures of himself with my ex-wife from the time a year or so before she'd had the twins.
My ex-wife chimed in that she'd had an affair with him, and he didn't have money, so she decided it would be easier to just let me think the twins were mine.
I freaking lost it. I began shouting with uncontrollable rage and sorrow. I asked every man nearby if he had banged my wife.
The twins and my ex-wife's wife told me not to make a scene as I shouted that my life was a lie. "Jesus, Frank," that turkey-neck witch said as if I was the one out of line.
"Oh, Jesus, Frank!" I bellowed over and over again in angst. Then I had a heart attack.
Anyway, things are a lot better now. I bought half of the bar, the man who I used to think was my son, the man who thinks he's my son, and their friend's own, and now we work together along with the woman I thought was my daughter.
It's a lot of fun, and the whole gang is crazy. My ex-wife died in a botched neck-lift surgery, so I guess that's a happy ending for all of us.
skjenolc
16. Family Drama
So this is my brother's story, and I doubt anyone will read it, but I felt the need to share anyway.
He, let's call him Eric, had a son with a crazy woman. She ended up sleeping with our other brother, let's call him Matt, around the time she got pregnant. She told him this after my nephew was 3, and he started to look almost exactly like our brother Matt at that age.
I know family genetics.
The thing is that Matt and Eric have different dads, and Matt definitely looks like his father, just like my nephew had started.
Well, he had gotten the DNA test set up after he found out.
He was absolutely upset by the news and didn't exactly know how to handle it.
Finally, he decided that he wasn't going to go through with it. He said that he loved him no matter what and that he was his son regardless of what the results were. He said it would devastate him to find out that it was biologically his and that he had to give custody over to Matt when Matt wanted nothing to do with him.
Eric went as far as to get complete custody from this woman and loved that kid more than anyone could imagine. I love my brother, and I think he did the right thing for both of them.
No matter what anyone else says.
[deleted]
17. The Guy Who Tried
This happened to a really good friend of mine. He was a teenager at the time, getting ready to go to university for the first time. Broke up with his ex, who came to him a few weeks later and told him she was pregnant and that it was his.
He immediately accepted it and dropped out of university before he even started it. Got a full-time job, took care of her all through her pregnancy, and got everything they needed for when the baby arrived. He was even in the delivery room when the baby was born.
Upon the birth, his ex waivered and asked for a paternity test. All this time, the kid wasn't even his. He stuck around for about a month before he realized that this wasn't his burden to bear and re-enrolled in university.
He just picked up where he left off and basically got on with life.
sillybanana2012
18. Ruined Relationships
I was dating this girl for over one year, the relationship was crappy, and I basically knew it was going to end...(she was a very jealous person). I had a family member visit us from another country. She was bringing a friend.
I had no idea who this second person was but already my ex was being a jealous monster. I told her if she was going to cause a scene at my mother's house, the relationship would be over on the spot.
Of course, she caused a scene, and I ended the relationship. Her, my grandmother's friend, was my age. She was a beautiful lady. We hit it off, and I made plans to move back to Germany.
Fast forward, I came back home after my month-long vacation with my family and this girl. I am slowly working on getting my things in order to move away.
She told me she was pregnant :(.
We basically decided to work things out for the sake of the child. I ended my brief relationship with the German girl.
Fast forward to having the baby....our relationship gets worse, and I end it right before the child's first birthday. She takes me for child support and basically suffer through paying for 4 years. I met my now wife and mother to my kids...I told her the story and basically said I always had this hunch the child was not mine.
I did one of those at-home paternity tests, and the results were a resounding no! I was devastated. I loved the kid and was working towards fighting for full custody. When I confronted her, she basically admitted to it all.
She immediately stopped the child support, although under current state law, she doesn't need to. This all happened 6 years ago.
[deleted]
19. The Wedding
This wasn't me, but I was there when the truth came out at his not-really-granddaughter's wedding.
He got a vasectomy after they had three kids, and shortly after, his wife became pregnant. He knew it wasn't his, but he made a decision to raise the son as his own. He ended up passing away.
No one found out until the bride found out she had a rare hereditary disease that, after asking many, many questions, came from her biological grandfather.
Someone got really drunk at the rehearsal dinner & decided it was a good idea to tell her father (the illegitimate son) the truth.
It wasn't.
dinosnaur
20. Baffling Moments
My ex broke up with me last November for some idiotic reasons. She called me up on my birthday (April) and asked me to get food. We hang out all day, things happen, and I'm happy again.
She called me the following morning and asked if I'd date a mother. She implied she had a kid and said he's mine. The second I heard this news, I did triple shifts and prepared myself for the worst, but a week later, she asked me to hang out once again.
She let me know that she was with her male friend and decided to break up with me, but she didn't have it in her to tell me the truth since I was in a very bad place mentally at the time.
That's it, no contact, no friendship, nothing.
iguessimaperson
21. The Little Girl
I'm probably a little late for this thread. But oh well. My daughter isn't mine. My now ex-wife knows, I know, our daughter is little and doesn't know.
The real father doesn't want anything to do with her. In my mind, she'll always be my daughter.
I'll raise her and care for her, not because I have to, but because she deserves the love of a father as much as anyone else.
My ex-wife, I don't wish ill upon her. When I let her go, I let all that anger go too. I'm just happy to have this little girl in my life.
throwawaydadstill
22. Nothing’s Gonna Stop It
It happened to my dad.
My mother revealed it in court when he was fighting for split custody over me after she decided to divorce him. I was 6 years old at the time and found out that I was seeing my actual father almost every day.
He was my mom's boss, and my mom promised him the world if he'd keep his mouth shut. She said that she would return to him after the divorce and make us a proper family. Needless to say, when the divorce actually happened, it was for a richer guy who abused both me and her for the next 12 years.
For my stepdad, my mother forbids every contact. I later found out through my grandma from his side that he had been a mess and that a befriended doctor gave him something to calm down several times because of how much it destroyed him for the first while.
He then fought in court for visitation, which was 1 Sunday a month. He was a bus driver, and I always went to the bus stop near my school after classes and got on his bus to see him secretly.
I don't remember many small details, but I know I often cried and asked him why he couldn't be my dad anymore and that I wanted him back. He cried every time after I had to go.
When my mother found out, she sent a lawyer after him and my grandparents and had the school director ban them from school grounds. I didn't care, though, and stopped by them every day on my way home together with some classmates.
I never had a good relationship with my mom, but I love my two dads because they both fought for me and what I wanted, and they still support me today, while my mother didn't.
My stepdad and bio dad met up and talked. They are civil with each other, and bio dad fought and covered for me and my stepdad's grandparents. Neither dads like my mom.
My stepdad doesn't talk to her at all. My bio dad is civil with her cause of me.
OddCupOfTea
23. Dark Times
I was about 16 at the time, and he was 24. He met this girl who already had an 8-month-old daughter, and the father was out of the picture. Fast forward 2 years, they get married, and she wants him to adopt the girl.
He adopts her, and then the wife gets pregnant. So, about 6 months after the other daughter is born, the wife moves out and gets a place with her first kid's father because he was really never out of the picture.
He was just a deadbeat low-level dealer. My cousin's second daughter was not his, which was found out in the divorce proceedings. So he ended up paying her alimony and child support for two kids that weren't his.
Dark times for him for a few years, but his ex-wife and loser got pulled over for DUI and had illegal things in the car. The loser had to go to prison, his ex-wife lost custody of the kids, and alimony was stopping shortly since they had only been married for a few years.
She subsequently became an alcoholic and hasn't seen her daughters in roughly 4 years. Everyone thought she was going to die last year, and her family requested that the girls see her, but they refused.
So, my cousin has two great daughters now, but it has been really bad for him for several years.
PettyWhisperer
24. The Results
This is going to be tough.
My wife and I had a young daughter. Two years later, she was pregnant again. I was scared because we were so young, but we made it through.
Six months after she was born, I noticed that her eyes didn’t change from that blue color that babies are born with. She also has platinum blonde hair (we both have brown hair and brown eyes).
I didn’t think much of it because I wanted to believe she was mine. Eventually, the wife and I split because of her illegal activities and not being able to/want to work on it. She decided to take me to court for child support and filed for a paternity test.
First child: 99.2% Second: 0%
I received the paperwork in the mail, and I had just come home from work when I opened it, something like 2 am. I read that second number and bawled as if someone had died. Ended up waking everyone in the house up.
Her response to the paperwork was, “I was hoping it was you.” I’ve never forgiven her to this day, and her excuse was that she was young then.
The dad ended up being her dealer at the time.
The good news is that I’m still close to her today, and she still calls me her second dad. About three years ago, I was in town visiting the oldest daughter, and she came over so I could meet my ‘grandson.’
I’m still family in her eyes.
misteradma
25. Everything Disappeared
Well. I can say from it happening to me that learning your child is not your child is pretty much the worst news you can get
My story: We suffered from fertility issues and did all the treatments for months, and after many inseminations, she was pregnant…. And she started acting very odd about many things out of nowhere that I chalked up to her hormones. But it is still very odd behavior.
We have a baby boy. She's healthy, and all seems well with him, but she’s acting odd still. Over the next 5 years, she worked endlessly to keep a wedge between my boy and me. As if our forming a relationship is a bad thing.
We separate over many problems. And then I got the news from her: he’s not your boy, and she requested DNA as part of the divorce action. And it’s confirmed.
I’m not the father, and the real father is a friend of mine, who now wants to be with her and their child. I was ordered to stay away from their kid as a minor and have no obligation to child support.
In a blink, 5 years of life, memories of being called dad and my main man are gone. I have no legal rights, and I have to stay away or else.
For the first few years, I just drank a lot to hide the pain. Holidays sucked, everything sucked until one day, I had enough and got a really good therapist to talk to.
SevenStrats
26. Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater
Went overseas at 18, and on leave, my girlfriend told me she was pregnant. Didn't see the birth of what I thought was our child, and it messed me up badly while I was over there. When I came home, we lived together.
It was going well, I thought.
She gets drunk and admits to cheating, but it will never happen again. I told my sister, and she said, “You never trust a cheater. Get tested to see if the kid is yours.” He wasn't. It stings even now. It's been about ten years.
I always wanted kids, so yeah, crap was hard. I'm married now with three kids, and my wife knows my past. I didn't need to say a word. When she was far enough along, she surprised me with test results proving I was the father.
I felt so ashamed when she first told me she was pregnant cause my first reaction was conflicted. So happy, but remember, you had absolute faith the first time. She would never do that. I didn't need to worry; she understood me then, and I'll never forget that.
vanillagorrilla23
27. Quick Escalations
My brother's ex got pregnant when they were 21, and told him it was his. It wasn’t until the baby was about 6 months old and was about to get taken away from her by social services (my brother was going to get sole custody)
He took a paternity test first to make sure, at my parent's insistence, and we found out she wasn’t his. Scarred him for life.
The baby went to stay with her family.
olivecorgi7
28. The Christmas Gift
My friend has had majority custody of his son for most of his 17 years. The son doesn't look anything like my friend, but he does look like my friend's dad, so it was assumed that he just got those genes.
When the boy was 15-16, someone got him an Ancestry or 23andMe DNA kit as a Christmas gift. His grandparents had also taken one, but they didn't show up in his DNA relatives.
So my friend did one, and nope, he's not related to this boy whom he'd been raising mostly alone for all those years. It was emotional for him to know they weren't related by blood,
Obviously, he had some anger for the boy's mom, but it didn't change anything significant for him; he's still raising the boy and will always consider him his son.
gaspitsagirl
29. A Partner And Enemy
I knew one guy "knew" because he broke down and ended himself. He had given his all for years to be in a position where he would be able to be not only a loving father but also one who could provide a good financial environment for his child.
What he got was a woman who lied to him, stole the wealth he worked for longer than she was around, and basically, through her actions, told him that nothing in his biology was worth surviving for another generation but that some other dude’s genes were so amazing to her that it warranted betrayal and theft to raise his offspring.
Homely_Bonfire
30. The Aftermath of Betrayal
Happened to an old close friend of mine. His son was 2 years old when he found out he wasn’t his. He and his ‘son’ shared the same name, Josh. Baby Momma never let him see the son again after the news broke that it wasn’t really his.
He fell into a deep illegal substance for a few years. He ended up getting sober and having a daughter. He tested her with a paternity test, and it was, in fact, his daughter.
He ended up relapsing and died.
vertin1
31. Worst Typa Girl
Two kids, two paternity tests, and neither is my child.
I admit I am angry, but I just continue to live my life. I was already involved with someone else, and their mother was too, but she was still bitter. She did a lot of bashing and made threats.
I only asked for the truth (the names of the two guys), but she withheld it. She has never been honest or forthcoming. The oldest was able to squeeze the name of his bio dad out of her.
He also said he does not speak to his mother anymore.
International_Mud_44
32. Same Situations
One of my cousins did this to her first child's father. He was Indian, she was black, and the baby was darker than her. 6 years in, he refused to get a paternity test, and his parents brought her in without his knowledge, I believe.
He was never the same again. My other cousin was about 22 years old when her mom told her that her father was not biologically hers. My ex-mom was so immature about it that she made her daughter tell her father she wasn't his after she was well into her twenties.
Mandatory blood tests because why not? If they are, it's no problem.
Buddy, in highschool, kid looked exactly like him until he was forced to get a paternity test. Found out the kid wasn't his. He went through the same situation with the same woman years later with her 4th kid.
Leano89
33. Nope, Since Day One
I had a "fling" with a woman when I was 20 & she was 19. Never used protection, like an idiot. It ended badly. I was in the Army at the time, & then Desert Storm went down.
I was gone for 16 months, & I hadn't seen her for a few months before I deployed. When I got back, she was waiting for me with a 6-month-old. She had even put my name on the birth certificate.
I knew he couldn't be mine, but it still absolutely killed my soul to tell her there was no way in hell I was going to take her back or raise a baby that wasn't mine, especially under such deceptive circumstances.
Ended up in court, and took over 3 years, but I was finally vindicated. It took threatening her with filing for sole custody to get her to agree to take my name off the birth certificate. Found out later that the actual father was a friend of her brother's.
They got back together, & as far as I know, they're still together.
SwampGypsy
34. Unexpected Devastating News
Happened to a close friend of mine. Never thought he would settle down with a girl, but he met a girl he liked, and she got pregnant. Went through the gender reveal, baby shower, and everything.
My friend seemed so happy.
The baby was born, and they broke up shortly after. There were just a couple of fights. They were swapping weeks with having the little guy.
My friend pieces things together; she was with another guy in the past and started getting suspicious. On one of his weeks, he and his lawyer DNA tested the little guy, and he was not his. He was devastated. It was a big mess.
Sadly, I don’t think he’ll ever trust a girl again.
Inverted_Antagonist
35. Domino Effect of Sadness
One of my cousins thought he got his GF pregnant while home on Navy leave. 3y later, when his service was up, he told his mom something just didn't feel right.
He demands a paternity test, and she breaks down and confesses.
3 years of support he can't get back.
His mother was devastated. It took her maybe 10 years to get over no longer having a grandchild.
She got a little angel tattoo.
15y later, he now has two kids, and his grandmother is whole. It's not just the fathers who are hurt by this.
tuenthe463
36. Too Devastated
Well, not me but my dad. So, my youngest brother is my half-brother. But for the first 5 years, we all thought he was our full brother.
Turns out my mom was cheating on my dad for years. When my dad found out, he snapped for the first time in front of my brothers. My mom and my brother tried to defend my mom while my half-brother ran to my room screaming.
He just lost it that day, and then I came out, and he stopped and left.
Mind that, at the time, I weighed about 280 pounds and was not strong at all.
She left that day for a hotel, and then we lost the house because there wasn't enough money for the bills.
He drank himself for a few months, then started dating immediately. Went to clubs like a teen and just messed around. Now I have another half-brother...
Twilimark
37. Big Secrets
My older brother doesn't have the same bio dad as I do.
My mom does not know I figured it out. My dad knows I had figured it out and confirmed it. Proceeded to ask me not to tell. My brother has no clue.
My brother is happy - and loves my dad. My dad sees my brother as his own son, just like me. I decided to keep it a secret as it is not mine to tell.
BlackBeltGoogleFu
38. Daddy’s Angel
My kid doesn’t look like me. My girl cheated.
Now, the little guy is five, and I really care about him. Also, I’m the only dad he’s ever known. We were intimate without protection exactly 9 months before that little critter was born and decided to play it safe and support her through the pregnancy.
It isn’t all bad. I never wanted kids, and this has been really nice.
Love that guy.
Matty2things
39. Completely Blinded
Well, when I first got together with my girlfriend, things were great. I did everything I could to help her. It hit me when she told me she didn't want to get married(for military benefits). At that moment, I realized she would never accept me as a father figure for the child...
I also found out she was cheating on me, which is when I left her.
I guess I should have realized I would have never been the girl's father, no matter what when we had never even been intimate, but there she was with a child before we even got together...
The worst of it all is I still have dreams about what we could have been...one dream I will never forget... is when she calls me on the phone and tells me she has great news, and then I heard the kid say, “Mommy gave me a little brother.”
robomonkey94
40. The Audacity
I had a fiance, and we were supposed to be getting married. Then she went on a holiday alone because "She just needed to get away." She came back pregnant..... to an unemployed substance user.
I had a job and an apartment. She told me, "You've never done anything to prove you really loved me ... now's your chance. Accept me and the baby."
No thanks. Last I heard of her, she's an unmarried mother of two, and fudge her.
ul_us
41. Amazing Dads
My mom got married when she was 17 and had three sons with her first husband. I'm going to call him Ben. They were together for a long time, I think about 18 years in total. Somewhere along the way, she realized she was caught in a loveless marriage but couldn't really do anything about it.
My dad, who I'll call Dave, moved in across the street, and the two of them started spending time together, and she started an affair with him. They weren't careful enough, and the next thing you know, my mom is pregnant with me.
She knew from the get-go I wasn't Ben's, and he kind of had an idea, too because they weren't intimate that often and the math didn't work out, but I think he went along with it just because he didn't want to think about what she was doing behind his back.
My dad initially didn't want to have anything to do with me, so when I was born, they put down her husband's name on my birth certificate as the father and called it a day. Paternity tests were done, though, and my mom confirmed what she already knew.
Dave still definitely didn't want to stick with my mom and me, and it was just agreed that Ben would raise me as his, and they would forget it happened. He was and is a great guy and an awesome dad.
Now, the way I've heard it, Dave, despite his convictions, couldn't stay away because he loved my mom so much, and once he laid eyes on me, he was head over heels.
Some of my earliest memories are going to visit him in his apartment. At some point between the time I was 2 and the time I was 3, my mom and Ben divorced. I don't remember it and was kept largely out of it, but I understand it was very messy. Because I was legally Ben's daughter, I got the same visitations as my other brothers, who were still under 18.
My mom and Dave married when I was four, and Dave was never happy about these visits, but I was because I loved Ben so much. Ben was always "Daddy," and Dave was "Dad." It was understood, and I never confused the two or made reference to one being my parent in front of the other. Even as a 4 and 5-year-old, I knew the sensitive nature of the situation.
It was never confusing, either, because they really are two very different people who I think provided me with a great balance of paternal figures in my life. Like I said, Ben was always "Daddy." Sweet, endearing, with a heart of gold, who just wanted his little girl to be happy and would spoil her rotten to see her smile and make stupid jokes to get a giggle out of her.
Dave was "Dad." Still kind and loved me to death, but more of the disciplinarian who I knew not to mess with. My mom's not married to either of them now (another long-winded story entirely), but I consider both of them to be my father, and I consider both of them to have done the best job they could have, and I think I turned out alright.
beckasaurus
42. Took Responsibility
I started a band that became fairly popular. me and my girlfriend at the time broke up and she ended up getting pregnant by the lead singer of the band. I still loved her, so I told her I would take care of her and the baby. She agreed, so I quit the band and got a real job.
A couple of years later, the band ended up getting really famous. My girlfriend left me and got back with the lead singer/ real father of the baby. I ended up running a women's prison.
HotSouper
43. Best Dads
I can tell you that my stepdad stayed with my mom even though she cheated on him. Even had another kid with her.
And he pretty much raised me.
I lived with him and my mom and went to my dad's house every other weekend. My real dad was awesome and did as best he could, but my mom tried everything to prevent him from helping.
MrSkinner85
44. Full Commitment
This happened to my best friend. Yet he loves his son so much, I can't even express it in words. It's as if the news actually united them more in an everlasting bond of love than if he had been the boy's biological father.
They need one another, in the best sense - and all our friends witness this truth and depth of commitment.
[deleted]
45. High School Sweetheart
I met a girl in high school. We will call her Janice. Janice and I hit it off in a library, of all places. I was a short twig of a guy, and she was tall and lanky, wearing a baggy sweater. I didn't care. She was the first girl to acknowledge my existence.
Gradually, we became closer. We shared a few classes, including gym and lunch. We could make each other laugh to the point of squirting milk from our noses.
People made fun of us. Started calling us the odd couple. Which was awkward at first because we weren't a couple yet. It was that afternoon she said the words I won't ever forget; "Why aren't we a couple?"
"I don't know," I said back, "But I'd like to be if you would like to be." What followed was my first kiss. It wasn't the notebook, but from then on, we were a couple.
We dated, went over to each other's houses, went bowling (small-town teen hangout, etc.), and would rest under the tree watching finches chirping above us as we talked about Star Trek Voyager and Buffy. Until one night, I asked her to prom.
You know how every teen movie ever has that nerdy girl who loses the glasses and suddenly becomes a supermodel? Well, Janice, It turns out, had been drinking her milk. She was embarrassed about it and would wear a baggy sweater to cover this and tape it down in gym class. Prom night though, there was no hiding her gorgeous body In that scarlet dress she wore that night.
It was unforgettable. Listening to Train and Vitamin C slow dancing eye to eye. I didn't have to look to know people were watching us. It was there everything felt perfect. I didn't want things to end.
But the songs faded, and the lights dimmed eventually. I drove her home and kissed her goodnight to the hum of crickets in the surroundings. As I turned to go and get back to my dad's car, she didn't let go of my hand, pulling it back to me.
"Don't go." She faintly pleaded. I didn't. And I wish I had come more prepared.
A few weeks had passed, and something was off. I didn't know what immediately. She kept missing school and stacking up sick days. I gladly took notes for her and dropped them off at her place. One day. Janice's Dad answers the door. Giving me the thousand-yard stare.
"Get inside." It wasn't quite an order, and it wasn't quite a request. "She wants to see you." I was a bit confused. I wanted to see her (I hadn't for a while now), but something felt weird. Did he know?
It turned out she was missing school and having morning sickness. She was pregnant. She told me I wasn't obligated to do anything. She made that clear. She didn't want to get an abortion, and she didn't want to put it up for adoption.
I thought I did the right thing. I stayed with her, worked Late shifts, and hit the books so I could earn a degree and make this family work. We got married in court, and I promised her that one day, I would pay for the wedding. A few months later, she gave birth to twins.
For a while, things weren't bad. I married my high school sweetheart, I was making enough money to provide for this family, and my Mom was always sending Janice coupons to save us money on groceries and diapers.
Mom, of course, was also a helping hand with the kids. I eventually earned a degree and Started making Investments in the stock market. I made a few smart moves, and everything was looking up.
However, one day, we started to notice some problems with the twins. They were not quite with it. We went to the doctor. Several trips and tests later, we were told both were autistic. They would likely have problems fitting in and developing and are not likely to be self-sufficient.
I'd like to tell you we handled it well. That we were going to get through it. But this was the tip of the iceberg. You see, we got the diagnosis in September. A week later, two planes hit the World Trade Center.
My stocks nosedived. I ended up losing everything I worked hard to invest. My father was a volunteer firefighter and, without hesitating, took off with Mom to help with the cleanup. So we were without the coupons. Suddenly, everything is expensive. But the cherry on top of all this cake was losing my job.
I came home a wreck, didn't help. The twins were screaming, which didn’t help, Janice came home with less than we needed for the week. It didn't help that the used car salesman on TV was louder than he should have been.
I don't remember why we started fighting to this day, but it was our first real fight. Both of our backs were breaking from the falling straws. It eventually led to her saying those fateful words:
"I told you you didn't have to do anything," I said of course I did. What kind of a father would I be if I just walked away?
"You're not the father!" As soon as she said it, her eyes were filled with regret.
My mind is on fire. What? WHAT!? I ran out the back door. She ran after me and caught up from me, throwing up. I sat down exhausted and my head spinning. This was nothing I ever thought Janice doing.
She told me what happened those years ago in high school. She told me about the day she had bought the prom dress and tried it on in front of the tailor. The guy she said kept saying all these things to her, making her blush, hot and bothered. Her heart skipped a beat when he touched her to help fit her dress.
When she went to pay for the dress, she asked how much the total was, the tailor gave a seductive smile and simply replied, "Three fifty". The man transformed into a giant green monster from the lake of Loch Nessie herself, and his name was John Cena.
He then proceeded to suplex and impregnate my wife. She had gone over every detail of how she thought about telling me but was too scared I would have thought she was a witch.
We ended up watching a movie about families with low self-esteem written by a man who was both a therapist and analyst. He's some actor now, from what I looked up online.
I owe a lot of the healing to him and how his guidance helped us through the hardest moments of our relationship. Mom and Dad eventually returned from the Big Apple. We told them the news, and they were able to handle it.
I ended up landing another job and slowly building up my investments again.
Throwaway_4_opinions
46. Still Daddy’s Girl
Two years after my daughter was born, my ex and I had a major falling out over her infidelity and illegal substance use. She quickly proved herself completely incapable of taking care of our children.
I filed for full custody of both children. My ex flew off the handle, and one day before the hearing, she told me that our daughter wasn’t mine and that if I tried getting full custody, then I would never see her again.
I was devastated at the thought, but I loved my daughter. Over the course of a few months, my ex spiraled out of control, and I was ultimately awarded full custody of both children. She left the state to get treatment and then, after a couple of years, disappeared with a new boyfriend she met in rehab.
My parents pressed me to get a DNA test. They adored their granddaughter and would continue to love her regardless of whether or not she was my biological child. They just wanted to know the truth because they didn’t want my ex to use it as a weapon against me out of spite down the road.
Honestly, I wanted to remain ignorant. I’m not sure if that’s right or wrong, but it’s how I felt.
Well, they eventually said that if I didn’t get a DNA test, then they would get one using their DNA. I relented, got the test, and received the heart-breaking results. She wasn’t mine.
Those results never for a second changed how I feel about my daughter. I know there are plenty of children raised by stepparents or adopted parents who lead happy lives. I just dread the thought of having the conversation with her one day, worried about how she’ll take the news. I’m still completely unsure of when the right time to tell her is.
It’s been five years since I learned the truth. Regardless of whether or not she shares my DNA, I will always see her as nothing less than my daughter. I held her the day she was born. I’ve been with her every step of the way. I’ve since remarried, and my new wife fully embraced her.
My daughter calls her “mommy.” She is the greatest joy in my life, and she deserves a loving, happy family. I supposed it would have been well within my rights to walk away when I found out, but there’s no way I could’ve done that. I feel bad for anyone who ever has had to receive this gut punch.
CousinEddieMoneyshot