Help! A Decade Later, I Just Found Out My Husband Has 2 Kids
Dear In the Dark,
What an incredible breach of trust. Not only did he lie to you about not having kids, which I’m sure made sense to him at the time, but he perpetuated the lie by actively hiding an account from you and keeping important financial information from you. Of course you are having concerns and wondering if you can trust him.
Often people lie for one of two reasons—from fear and a desire to avoid negative consequences, or to gain something they don’t believe they can gain via the truth. Your husband says he lied initially because he didn’t think you would accept him if you knew the truth. Lying can become a habit and even a coping mechanism. Lying can generate fear of being found out, which necessitates additional lies until it looks as if there is no way out. It seems as if your husband justified continuing to lie for fear that if you learned the truth his world would unravel. I am not condoning his actions, but I can see how one lie begets another and another until it seems insurmountable.
Often people lie for one of two reasons—from fear and a desire to avoid negative consequences, or to gain something they don’t believe they can gain via the truth.Now that the truth is out, this would be a great time to work with your husband on becoming completely honest with you about everything. That means giving you access to all of his financial records, legal documents, and passwords as well as sharing his entire unvarnished history with you. Whether or not you intend to stay in your marriage, if you are going to parent with him, rebuilding trust is going to be important for you and for your kids. I recommend working with a therapist on this process. If your husband has indeed been hiding even more, being able to tell you about it in a safe, neutral environment may encourage more transparency. It may also encourage him to consider why he chose dishonesty for so long.
I should mention that, while uncommon, there are some individuals who lie without remorse, who use dishonesty to manipulate, or who lie simply because they can. It is a very small percentage of the population, and I am not suggesting that your husband falls into that category, but it might be helpful to have professional support as well to ensure that you are not dealing with this particular type of individual.
Best of luck,
Erika
Erika Myers
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Rylie
June 19th, 2015 at 11:43 AMHonestly I think that I would be checking into other things that he could have been hiding from you.
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Emmorie
June 20th, 2015 at 9:44 PMMy moms first husband had 5 children and upon marrying third wife he had nothing to do with any of them. Who keeps children a secret? Who has no contact with them ? Disgusting! I think your right to question what else he is hiding. Where there is smoke there is fire! And where there is one mouse their are many mice. Ie. Secrets! Liars lie. No sense making sense out of them. Keep digging or just divorce this pathetic amoral jerk.
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Monica
June 20th, 2015 at 12:28 PMLook at all of the wonderful things that the two of myou have missed out on together because he felt so insecure about this one thing, albeit a very big thing. I don’t know if I would be more disappointed that he lied or that he didn’t trust in you enough that you would actually be alright with being a stepmom.
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Shellyiam
June 21st, 2015 at 7:43 PMYou have every right to be angry! I would contact the other women and find out about his behavior with them for a start. 2 children with 2 women and only a year a part. Also the fact that he doesn’t have contact with his kids doesn’t bode well in his favor either. Hiding children and relationships is a huge deal. Hiding money is a huge deal. There is no reason to trust this man. I would go through all the finances and track every penny after something like this as well as do some research on my husband. I’d be willing to bet money he’s been deceptive about other things too. Also if he was quick with an answer when you caught him and he tries to justify his actions that another red flag. Do your homework on this man and focus on what he really is and not what you believed him to be. Some people are great at creating a facade to distract you from who they really are. Remember his first thought was to lie to you. He didn’t even test the water to see if he needed to before manufacturing his lie. There really is something very selfish about this whole thing.
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Rylie
June 22nd, 2015 at 3:20 PMI agree with Shellyiam!!
That is all right on the money and you have to be hurting right now but maybe finding out more of the truth can help you deal with this and get on with your life. -
Petra
June 25th, 2015 at 3:14 PMAny guess on whether his first kids know about his 2nd family?
My guess is no -
stella
June 27th, 2015 at 1:54 PMWe all have secrets but goodness! That’s quite the secret to keep from the person who supposedly is the most important person in the world to you.
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Josephine
June 28th, 2015 at 6:03 PMI would be very much concerned for those children. They have missed out on so much and then if they ever found out that he completely erased them from his own family history? Can you imagine how life shattering it would be to find out that one of the two people who gave you life really just pretends that you have never even existed?
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Kerry
July 4th, 2015 at 7:41 AMI was with a man for 4 years, and we were engaged to be married when I found out he had been lying to me about several important things in his life, such as his job and his family. Once discovered, he shared his guilt, shame, and remorse with me; he had a terrible childhood and was terrified of losing me, he went to therapy, and through careful and thoughtful attention, we began trying to rebuild our relationship. As part of working things out, we made an agreement that if he ever lied to me again in this manner, I would leave the relationship, no questions asked. Several years later I again discovered there were more lies. Lying as a coping mechanism was so imbedded into his emotional makeup that he couldn’t really help himself, and I had no choice but to leave. It was one of the most painful experiences I have ever had. A person who so easily turns to lying about such important life events, who keeps himself hidden from you in order to maintain the relationship, and who is able to keep the lie going through time, has significant coping and emotional problems, and cannot be trusted to be truthful. Tread very carefully and please take care not to confuse the remorse and emotional attachment he has for you and your family to his ability to be honest with you.
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Verónica
June 30th, 2016 at 7:47 PMVery perfectly stated, Kerry. I’m in the middle of this situation and have been on the fence whether to work things out. 99% of me said no, he is way too comfortable lying, he’ll never change. After reading your comment, I’m now 100% sure that we should go our separate ways despite of having a baby together.
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Lynda
May 1st, 2017 at 9:30 PMI unfortunately met a man who told me he has one child, wanted a family with me bla bla bla. I got pregnant for him and he abandoned me while pregnant, came to be there for the delivery but decided to abandon me while in labor to have his child. After delivery, I found out he had two other kids he never told me about. He had moved on with another woman and I kept wondering for months why he would treat me so badly and not care about his son. This new woman also thought he only had two kids but found out from me he has 4 kids by 4 different women. She’s the baby mama number 5. She is still believing all of his lies. This guy is the most awful, selfish and the most sociopathic b****** I have ever met.
I shared my story with you to know that, these type of men don’t change, they just adapt. He probably has more things to hide. He has made this new lady think I’m crazy, but she will find out and learn the hard way.
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Catrinna J.
November 12th, 2018 at 6:21 AMOmg, this is my life right now.. But 19 years and married for 15 and I just found out he’s been hiding a 21 year old son. We have A daughter who is 11. This is tough one for me. Not only that but after dying now to See what other truths could be brought out, he admitted to having an affair while i was preg. A total breach of trust. And at this point I’m filing for Separation and divorce. But I do have a question that was years ago for you I see. How did this work out for you..
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paula
June 14th, 2019 at 1:28 AMFound out my husband has a 41 year old daughter and he says he did not know till a year ago, I found out because she kept calling him and he was not gonna tell me, but I called her and asked why is she calling my husband who is she and she cut me. so he finally confessed to me and said he did not know how to tell me. But I feel he kept secrets and I am having a problem trusting him. I had to find out myself and nag him. I thought he was having an affair which is why i called this person. I feel disappointed and all his family knew for 20 years but he says he only knows for a year?
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Lucy
June 25th, 2019 at 6:58 AMMy ex and his entire family lied to me about my ex having two children to two separate women. It took me 30 years to figure it out. No acknowledgement or apology. The humiliation. The disrespect. The mockery placed on a loyal loving wife and our precious children. It is true EVIL. I stared it in the face a walked away from everything. I have my dignity and honour. PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR GUT & RUN!
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Selina
September 6th, 2023 at 12:08 PMI have a husband with 3 kids from his previous marriages. At first I knew nothing about this after about a year, I came to find out on my own. He said he was afraid of me not accepting him. At that time I was in love with him. After 7 years he begged me to get married to him which after many arguments about his children I later did because I was in love. After 3 years of our marriage, I get upset about his children. I always feel discomfort when he tends to communicate with his children. I really get jealous of his action with his children. What should I do to become positive and humble for my self and my marriage. Please say something?
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