"She Had A Mysterious Lover Who Would Take Her On Lavish Trips. It Was My Dad" And 12 More Shocking Stories Of People Dating Their Ex Family Members
If you, like me, love to hear about other people's mess, then WOW do I have news for you. I recently ran across a thread by redditor 99_red_balloons_, who asked: "Redditors who married the sister/brother of an ex, is it weird having your ex as a sister-in-law/brother-in-law?"
Here are some of the most jaw-dropping replies:
Note: Some responses have been edited for clarity.
1."Whenever people ask how me and my fiancé met, we lie and say 'the internet,' because the actual answer could be the plot of a Jerry Springer show. The actual story is that we met because I was having repeated casual sex with his twin brother (R) and R's girlfriend (who I met off a swinger site). This turned into a really dramatic six-month-long affair with R cheating on his (previously mentioned) girlfriend with me, her finding out, and a whole lot of yelling and crying and drama."
"Early on, while all this was going down and before the affair and the drama, I ended up meeting R's brother (D) on a night where we were all just hanging out. We hit it off and became really close friends, and as things got really complicated; he was one of the only people that knew about what was going on between me and R, so we'd talk about it and he'd listen to all this drama. I was going through a really shitty time in my life, and while things were very passionate and chaotic with R, I came to really value D's calmness and patience and empathy, and really fell in love with him as a human being, completely outside of what was going on with R.
They are extremely similar in a lot of ways, but I still jokingly refer to D as the 'good twin...' We've been together for six years. He's amazingly chill about the whole thing, and we just laugh about how it's a super awkward way to have found each other. I genuinely feel bad for R's girlfriend, who is still with him, because it's really shitty for her to have to see 'the other woman' at family gatherings forever. We've moved past it, but it was really weird in group settings for awhile. I'm sure that she still thinks that I'm only with D because I couldn't have R (which isn't true at all)."
2."Well my older brother is currently engaged to an ex-girlfriend of mine. He lied to me for years about their relationship while I knew they were into each other. How did I know? When we were broken up but still talking, we got into a fight, and during the fight she told me she had sex with my brother. I never told him I knew until a while later when he asked me if they could be together, and lied to my face when I asked if they had ever been physical."
"We come from a very close family; I've always considered my brothers some of my best friends. But his actions speak for themself, and his and my relationship is weaker than when he used to pick on me as children. It's caused me a lot of anxiety, I've been seeing a therapist, and I dread the day they actually get married. I'm embarrassed by it; my friends back home are in disbelief that she's still involved in my family.
I still love my brother, but I haven't looked up to him for a long time. It's sad, he gave me a half-assed apology once, mostly because my dad forced him to. Maybe I'm just a dick, but I refuse to celebrate their relationship because it isn't some fairy-tale love story. My brother is approaching 30, and I'm sure as his friends get married he's feeling pressure. It's all shitty, but I've got a life and career ahead of me; I know I won't do anything like that to one of my friends and especially not my brother."
3."My parents. My mom, at 15, told her sister, who was dating my dad at the time, that she was going to marry my dad. My aunt laughed and said it's a girl crush. A few years later my aunt and dad broke up. Mom and dad were both attending the same college and had a few classes together. She knew who he was; she seemed vaguely familiar to him. Eventually they started to date, and got married after five years."
"Mom's family loved him. My aunt and mom are still great friends and have always joked about it.
As an adult, I asked my aunt about it. She said she always knew my mom was right when she saw them interact the first time after they (she and my dad) broke up. My parents have been married since the '70s. Still act like teenagers. I think my aunt was the vessel that brought them together."
4."I'm currently dating the younger sister of an ex. My ex and I were really close friends for years and tried dating for a while; it didn't work because I couldn't really stop seeing her as a friend only. Her younger sister always crushed on me and was flirty, but obviously I ignored it because I really liked the whole family and didn't want to do anything to fuck that up."
"Broke up with my ex, and about a month later the sister is up at college, like, 1.5 hours from me. We'd been texting, and she says she wants me to visit. One thing led to another, and six months later, here we are. My ex doesn't really talk to me when I'm around the house on breaks or whatever, but the family still really likes me, so that's a win."
5."My oldest uncle, Ken, dated a woman named Vicky. They broke up. Then my second oldest uncle, Jim, started dating Vicky. This was awkward. But my uncle Ken got over it by dating Vicky's younger sister, Linda."
"So now my uncle Ken is married to Linda, his ex girlfriend's (Vicky's) sister. And my uncle Jim is married to Vicky, my uncle Ken's ex and my aunt Linda's sister.
It's ridiculous. No one cares, though. It was, like, 45 years ago. But it's still pretty funny that my brother uncles are married to my sister aunts, one of whom dated both of my uncles."
6."My wife was my best friend since grade school, and for a brief period during our high school years I dated her younger sister. We had a mutual breakup after a few months and remained close afterwards."
"In college, my now-wife and I decided to take our friendship to the next level. We were married a few years later and now have two kids. There is no awkwardness between any of us, and the three of us frequently go out to dinner together. Everyone is lighthearted about it, and my wife makes jokes all the time."
—Anonymous
7."My aunt is married to my mom's ex. My mom isn't too awkward about it, but my dad kind of hates the guy."
"The guy is kind of an ass... For example, my parents are always tight on money, and when my dad offered to buy my aunt and uncle dinner, my uncle (who is also poor) ordered top-shelf liquor."
8."I dated the sister for five years and always had a crush on the brother. So, a year and a half after we broke up, I slept with him. Aaaaand it ruined the friendship."
"Best part is that my mom is still best friends with their mom. A few years back, she asked me, 'GG, why do I never see you around anymore?' It took all my might not to retort with, 'Well I fucked both of your kids, and now they both hate me.'"
9."My mother basically had two priorities: her children, and her career. She made that work, but there wasn't much time left for the luxury life my father seemed to want. Since both of my parents weren't around that much, my mother's younger sister — who rebelled against the family's idea of studying finance to pursued a career in music instead — would spend her summers in the US, taking care of me and my younger siblings. And things were going well for her, too; she had a mysterious lover who would take her on lavish trips around the world, and shower her in gifts."
"Spoiler alert, it was my dad. When my mother found out, she filed for divorce and moved back to Europe. My father and my aunt ended up marrying and having two kids of their own, who are now both my half-siblings and my cousins.
My mother and father hate each other passionately to this day, and only see each other in court for the legal battle that has been going on for over 20 years now. Weirdly enough, I still think it turned out for the best; both my parents are much happier than they ever were when they were together."
10."I was engaged to a guy for four years, and that ended because of his inability to keep his little wang in his britches when he left the house."
"His older brother briefly lived with us during a job transition, and we became pretty good friends. Shortly after leaving the man whore, I caught up with the older brother over drinks.
Cut to three years later and we are married. They never had a close relationship to begin with, so it didn't cause much trouble, but the man whore started dating a woman recently who has a major issue with the situation. She doesn't want me at family gatherings and refuses to let my niece and nephew stay with us anymore. We still haven't figured out what her problem is, but we haven't lost any sleep over it."
11."I had an aunt Jennifer, who was married to Bob. Bob was a bit of a hound and apparently cheated on her quite a bit. Still, Bob and Jennifer decided to have a baby, and Michael was born. Bob ended up having an affair with Jennifer's sister, Anna. Jennifer found out about Bob and Anna, and got the fuck out, and took Michael with her. Soon after, Jennifer started dating my uncle Rich. Rich and Bob know each other pretty well. They're not good friends or anything, but they seem to run in the same circle."
"Things start going well for Rich and Jennifer, so within two years, they decide to move in together and get married. In the meantime, Bob and Anna are going pretty strong, so they shack up and get married around the same time. Anna and Jennifer patch things up, and Jennifer forgives her.
Over the years, they operate completely normally (at least on the surface), as Michael's dad doubles as his uncle, and his step-mom is his aunt. It's a very bizarre family dynamic, but it works."
12."Went on a few dates with a girl, we hooked up in my car, and then I found out she had a boyfriend, so fuck that. Few weeks later, a friend of mine introduced me to a girl he's dating — it's her sister. Small world. Friend turns out to be a big asshole, me and the sister start dating. Kinda weird at first, but she's amazing."
"Meet her friends, turns out her and her sister hang in the same group. It gets awkward. We date a couple years, I start attending family events regularly. Her sister starts becoming more comfortable around me, sees me as a brother now. Still weird.
Sister wears comfy house clothes when I'm around 'cause we're family now. I see things I've seen before, but definitely should not be seeing now. Girlfriend doesn't seem to mind, guess she's past it. Eight years go by, we're getting married next week. Her sister has been the most helpful person planning our wedding. Really appreciate everything she's done for us. Still weird."
13.And finally, "I started dating a girl after high school; we met while working at a grocery store. I heard through a friend of a friend that she liked me, so I asked her out. We dated for a little while, but after about a month she ended up breaking up with me over the phone. I was really bummed because I liked her a lot. Her twin sister (yeah, you heard right) also worked with us in the same department."
"It was super awkward at first because I would still confuse them for each other: Both have the same initials, wore the same hairstyle, and uniforms don't help. After about three months I heard from a friend of a friend that now the sister was asking around if I was still single. So a group of us went bowling, and I ended up making out with her in the parking lot. I was against dating her, but she actually pursued me, so I caved and we started dating.
At first, my ex wouldn't make eye contact with me at work, or speak to me. But after a while the ex didn't seem to mind. The sister didn't seem to mind either; she didn't date me out of spite or anything.
Fast-forward 11 years, we are now married with two kids... I still talk to my ex a few times a week. No one thinks it's weird."
Can you relate? If you've ever dated your ex's sibling or vice versa, tell us about it in the comments.