A woman was surprised by how much her adopted son grew to resemble her four biological children, so much so that people would often remark on the likeness.
Little did she know that the boy, now seven, was actually her husband’s biological child, conceived during an extra-marital affair.
The 41-year-old mother-of-five had always wanted a big family. After having three daughters and a son, a health issue meant that she sadly wouldn’t be able to have any others biologically.
She and her husband, Dave, discussed adopting a fifth child at this point. As he was stationed abroad for a short time and – not wanting to uproot their kids or disrupt her business – they decided to table the discussion until his return.
However, during his time overseas, Dave, 48, suggested they look into international adoption. Although this wasn’t something she’d considered before, she came around to the idea.
Dave handled most of the adoption paperwork, and soon the couple welcomed home a new addition to their family, a baby boy named Kalen.
Taking the Reddit, the unnamed mum wrote: “I am smitten with this child. As he grew – he’s seven now – family members and friends would comment that he looked so much like the other children that they couldn’t tell he was adopted.
“I’ve even joked that he did and my husband would always laugh this off”.
However, while moving important documents to a new safe, something about the adoption papers suddenly struck her as odd, and so she sent off for a DNA test. The results showed that Dave is indeed Kalen’s biological father.
The poster – who goes by the username u/Simple-Education-520 – continued: “I love this kid with everything in me. To know my husband cheated and then passed off Kalen as some random kid we adopted makes me sick.
“Dave begged for forgiveness saying the woman didn’t want the child, but he did so he used adoption to claim his son.
“I will stay in Kalen’s life because I’m his mum but I can’t stand looking at Dave knowing he betrayed me and lied. I filed for divorce “.
Going forward, the mum faces a difficult road and isn’t sure how to tell her kids. Her family is also divided on the matter, with some calling her “selfish” for not trying to work through things to keep her family together.
Her fellow Reddit users have been quick to reassure her that she isn’t being selfish at all, given that her husband had broken her trust in such a serious manner, with many believing this goes beyond the powers of couple’s counselling.
One person advised: “This was no ordinary lie, this was, like, the Mount Everest of deception. There is no way in Hell’s half-acre that this was the only time. It may be the worst, but it is certainly not the first.
“I am utterly terrified thinking of what the others are. And let me be clear: there are absolutely others. Get to the gyno, find a lawyer, and find a forensic accountant. Leave no rock unturned, especially the financial and personal health ones. Find them”.
Another wrote: “Your husband broke his marital vows in a number of ways, then did his damndest to deny you of any agency when dealing with his choices. The lack of respect is unforgivable.
“There’s no coming back from that and anyone who mewls otherwise is someone who does not have your best interests in mind”.