A mom was torn after she found the stunning answer to why her son and the boy next door looked so much alike: Her husband and their young neighbor were closer than she realized. A DNA test proved that the boys were half-brothers. Unfortunately, the mother, who took to Reddit's Relationship_Advice forum, only learned the truth after her husband's mistress died — and after they adopted her son as a gesture of goodwill.
Their marriage got messy when a 20-something woman moved in next door.
The couple have been together for well over 15 years, she explained on Reddit, and have lived in their neighborhood for the last 12. Over the years, they became friendly with a young woman who moved in next door.
Two years after she moved in, she had a child.
At the time, she explained that her pregnancy was the result of a one-night stand. After their neighbor had her son, unfortunately her health started to deteriorate. Throughout her son's first year, "she had to be frequently hospitalized."
Throughout the neighbor's health issues, the Redditor and her husband were more than happy to watch the boy.
Sadly, his mother died two years later.
"We both were really affected my the loss of our friend," she wrote.
Her husband proposed that they become the boy's guardians.
The wife readily agreed. Eventually, they decided to adopt him and "he is my son as much as my other son that I had with my husband," she wrote.
There's just one problem: The now 5-year-old boy and the Redditor's 10-year-old son look alike.
Like, A LOT, alike — so much so that the original poster (OP) became suspicious. She secretly did a DNA test on the boys, and it turns out "they are (half) brothers."
That means that her husband cheated on her with the woman next door.
Now the poor Redditor doesn't know what to do.
"I am so angry and feel so humiliated but I love the three of them so much," she explained. "It feels like I was not a mother but an idiot who was used like a baby-sitter for his child."
Does this mean divorce is in her future?
Or worse, should she dissolve her son's adoption?
"Am I right to feel like it or I am a monster to see in this child my humiliation?" she asked.
Most people agreed: No matter what, don't take it out on her adopted son.
"Please leave kids out of it," one commenter wrote. "It's not that kid's fault! He did nothing! He's also a victim. He wasn't yours and you still learned how to love him. And he's still that sweet boy, who by now probably sees you as his mother."
"Keep the child, drop the husband," a second person agreed.
"You clearly have a big heart adopting this child and providing it with the same love that you give your own biological child," a third person commented. "This doesn't have to stop. The child is innocent and not to blame for your husband's indiscretions."
As for her lying husband, there was only one solution:
"The disrespect your husband has shown towards you is astounding," one person commented.
A second commenter was even more direct:
"Divorce him. He played you for a fool. He could have come clean about this and begged your forgiveness. He just lied to your face. For years. I doubt he was ever going to tell you. What a selfish monster he is."
A third person had a more temperate solution. "I would say that you need to confront your husband about this. His reaction and his behavior will help you decide what to do. No matter what, you have a tough road ahead."
Ultimately, untangling herself from her life is easier said than done.
Later in the thread, the mom admitted that she was having a hard time hating both her adopted son and her husband.
"My husband was never abusive, he was during these years a good husband and a good father," she explained.
She's also been her son's adopted mother for years, so even if she decided she wanted nothing to do with him, "I believe I still have to take financial responsibility under my country's law."
"I feel trapped," she admitted. "And I am afraid that if I still wanted to save our family it would be because I feel trapped and not because I want to."
Perhaps the OP should speak to a counselor and a good lawyer before making any firm decisions. These kinds of issues might be too hard to navigate on her own.
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