Join the Fun!

racinjunki , Martha Dominguez de Gouveia Report

According to Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a research fellow at The Kinsey Institute, the host of the Sex and Psychology Podcast, and the author of 'Tell Me What You Want', our secrets can be "about something positive and exciting, such as a surprise party you're throwing, a new job offer you received, or an engagement proposal you’re about to make."

"Positive secrets like this are the kinds of things we often feel the urge to confess," Lehmiller told Bored Panda. "We want to share the good news and find a way to channel our excitement."

But "at the same time, most of us carry negative secrets—that is, we hold information that could potentially make us look bad to others if it got out. This is the kind of information we're often afraid to share because it makes us vulnerable; however, we sometimes still want to share it anyway. For example, someone who is having an affair might confess this to a close friend, perhaps because they want to talk through the complex and mixed feelings they have, or perhaps they just want to share their excitement about doing something taboo."

When people confess their negative secrets, it's usually a means of facilitating intimacy with another person. "Disclosing information you wouldn’t normally tell other people can be a powerful way to build closeness," Lehmiller highlighted.

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told Friend of mine pulled the plug on his father. Was very illegal to assist anyone where he lives but his father asked him to do it.

Final score:

246points

POST

Jessica SpeLangm 5 months ago

Shouldn't be illegal, and a person should be allowed to die how they want to. As long as nobody else gets hurt.

128points

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told My HS girlfriend told me her stepdad had been showering and sleeping with her since she was 13. I started dating her when I was 17. She was extremely experienced and very sexually active, which a young guy would enjoy, but it was over sexual and I knew something was up. I asked her and she told me all about it. I tried to handle it, but could not. Her little sister had also just started to be molested. I told them they needed to tell their mother or I would. Well they did and guess what? I was basically kicked out of the relationship. I became the bad guy. I wish now that I could have helped her or dealt with it better. But I hadn't dealt with anything like that. We broke up and their family carried on. It wasn't incest, but it was wrong. She did marry and have children and it looks like a nice situation. Unfortunately her younger sister died of an overdose when she was in her 30's. I'm now in my 50's and this whole situation still bothers me.

No-Cause-5856 , Mustafa Kalkan Report

Final score:

201points

POST

Libstak 5 months ago

It was illegal and paedophilia, much more than just "wrong".

219points

Lehmiller said that we're drawn to hearing other people's secrets for a variety of reasons.

"One is that it can make us feel normal. Almost all of us are carrying around at least some information we don't want to share because we're afraid of being judged, such as having a 'deviant' sexual fantasy. When we hear that other people are having the same thoughts, this can help to reduce feelings of shame, embarrassment, and anxiety because we realize we aren't alone," the psychologist explained.

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told When I was like 10, my father bragged to me about basically torturing another kid in his highschool. They called him names, locked him into lockers frequently, laughed at him crying in there.. and one time, drenched him in gas and pretended to light him on fire with their cigarettes. He thought it was funny that he cried and pleaded for them not to light him on fire.

He told me about these stories at dinner to "calm me down", after I cried and screamed like hell when he forced me to extinguish a candle with my fingers.

PraggyD , Aedrian Salazar Report

Final score:

175points

POST

Katie Lutesinger 5 months ago

Psychopath.

303points

turquoise_amethyst Report

Not told to me directly— My evil ex-roommate was laughing about how stupid her boyfriend was because she manipulated him into paying for an abortion that wasn’t his.

She thought it was absolutely *hilarious* that he never asked, and was *truly* concerned for her health and wellbeing.

She was loudly bragging about it on the phone and I could hear her through my bedroom wall. She’s genuinely one of the worst people I’ve ever met. .

Final score:

166points

POST

KimB 5 months ago

At least she's an ex roommate...and it's probably for the best she didn't have that child I can't imagine it would have a good life with someone like that :(

108points

But we also understand the burden that comes with it. "When someone volunteers a secret, we may also be reluctant to hear it because we then bear some responsibility for keeping the other person's information secret," Lehmiller said.

"For example, let's say your best friend tells you they cheated on their spouse—but you're friends with their spouse. Now you're in a pickle. You might feel the need to keep your friend's secret, but you might also feel the need to disclose it because someone else really needs to know it. And no matter what you do in this situation, someone will get hurt."

This girl told me she spanked her daughter until she threw up because she wet her pants when she was 18 months old and then she had no trouble going to the bathroom. This her advice when I said my daughter was just over 2 and not quite ready for potty training. I didn't take her advice.

MarlenaEvans Report

Final score:

161points

POST

Jessica SpeLangm 5 months ago

OP should have reported that woman to Child Protective Services

248points

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told She was aware that one of her children were being abused by his 2 brothers and did nothing.

ohshushnow , Annie Spratt Report

Final score:

141points

POST

3 Otters 🦦 5 months ago

Ok, I’ll say it. WTF???????

127points

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told Guy told me he and his cousin had hooked up at every family get together since they were 9. He's almost 40 and married.

FR_0S_TY , Mihail Tregubov Report

Final score:

123points

POST

Zephyr343 5 months ago

Well that is horrifying

112points

Active-Strawberry-37 , Vitolda Klein Report

Every now and then we hear someone say they lead completely honest lives and do not keep any secrets. According to Lehmller, there is a chance they might be telling the truth, but we will never know for sure.

"Sometimes we lie to keep our secrets hidden. And, sometimes, the information we keep secret is the information we've lied about. As a social psychologist, I suspect it's the rare person who never keeps a secret. The ability to keep a secret has a certain power—as does the ability to selectively reveal a secret when it suits your purposes. Humans are reluctant to voluntarily give up power, and the ability to keep a secret (or choose when to reveal it) is one power that everyone has."

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told Guy told me he’s sterile. His wife doesn’t know, nor do her 3 kids.

Final score:

120points

POST

Lyoness 5 months ago

Is it possible he's wrong? If he had a vasectomy, men who've had have them have gotten people pregnant. It's very rare but if he had one and it didn't take that'd explain the kids. If he was tested years ago and been told he was sterile his sperm could have increased and he isn't aware. Hopefully it's one of those and not that his wife has cheated.

109points

#10

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told Dude straight up said out loud in class "idk what the big deal is about sleeping with a cousin, it's no different than a FWB"..... The silence after that was sooooooo loud.

Chance_Difference_34 , ICSA Report

Final score:

118points

POST

Zephyr343 5 months ago

....noticing a disturbing trend 😳

81points

#11

A coworker told me that his son had been molesting his daughter. They were 10 and 8, or somewhere in that range. I gave him some phone numbers to get help.

sexyebola69 Report

Final score:

115points

POST

Libstak 5 months ago

That's awful, both being minors makes it the hardest to navigate.

76points

#12

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told He was sleeping with his male friends on their guy’s only camping trips. Wife didn’t know.

soymilkmolasses , Scott Goodwill Report

Final score:

115points

POST

3 Otters 🦦 5 months ago

Cheating. Hope he used protection.

116points

#13

A classmate at her old school had a deadly peanut allergy so she put peanuts in her food to see what would happen….

black_p0is0n Report

Final score:

114points

POST

Jessica SpeLangm 5 months ago

That's attempted murder. Classmate should be in prison for that

188points

#14

They they gave their 5 year old step daughter spoiled milk because the little girl “is a b***h”.

kwali87 Report

Final score:

112points

POST

Lyoness 5 months ago

CPS. Now.

191points

Successful-Crazy-126 , Stephen Radford Report

#15

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told When i was a kid an aunty admitted to burning down her boyfriends sisters house with kerosene.

Final score:

108points

POST

two-sided llama 5 months ago

I like to imagine that she just said that casually over dinner like it was nothing.

65points

#16

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told Classmate in grad school was in a long-term relationship with her brother. They lived together and had no plans to stop.

Prttybyrd , Helena Lopes Report

Final score:

108points

POST

3 Otters 🦦 5 months ago

Did they live in an attic?

159points

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

See Also on Bored Panda

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#17

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told My grandmother was pregnant before marriage (the father was someone other than my grandfather). She put the baby in a home for the mentally ill. My dad had no idea he had an older brother until after both his brother and his parents died. It explained why we weren’t allowed to talk to certain family members. They knew and disagreed with my grandmother. They were the ones to spill the beans many years later.

TwinNirvana , adrianna geo Report

Final score:

104points

POST

Katie Lutesinger 5 months ago

How on earth would a BABY be considered suitable for a mental hospital??

124points

#18

Thought I caught my gf cheating. Turns out she was selling her urine to some internet pervert. So I guess I did, but not what I expected.

Fudd_Fries Report

Final score:

100points

POST

Robert Beveridge 5 months ago

I would be willing to bet you a tenner the "internet pervert" used it for a d**g test.

144points

#19

In college our biology lab was about five benches, with four to five people working at each one.

My bench had three girls on it, one of whom would tell the others stories about how she was dating her uncle.

The stories were all graphic, horrific, and weird. She did not have an inside voice, and the entire lab was fully aware.

Not sure if its a secret? But it should have been...

Ravnak Report

Final score:

95points

POST

Anna Ekberg 5 months ago

How does someone even come up with the thought: " hmm, i think i'm gonna date my niece".

53points

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

See Also on Bored Panda

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#20

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told Girlfriends brother pretended to go to school for 3 years and made fake school reports.

Mathis20050316 , Pixabay Report

Final score:

89points

POST

Zephyr343 5 months ago

Hard to get an official transcript

36points

#21

That she was now married to the man her ex-husband caught her cheating with - his father/her kids' grandfather.

gunbather Report

Final score:

88points

POST

KimB 5 months ago

Oh the poor children stuck in this mess...

76points

#22

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told I had a friend come home to visit and during a lunch out he told me he had messed around on his wife. But he didn’t stop there, he went on to tell me that he had slept with over 100 women since they had gotten married. He then broke down and cried in a crowded restaurant and sobbed for like ten minutes. That was like 5 years ago and they’re still married.

ripper4444 , Ketut Subiyanto Report

Final score:

84points

POST

KimB 5 months ago

I wonder how many sexually transmitted infections that poor wife has had from that POS cheater?!?

87points

#23

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told Less depressing one: A friend told me once that they use a hairdryer to dry their whole body off after a shower... not friendship ending but it made me realize that people truly have completely different perspectives.

Calliopedreams , Pavel Danilyuk Report

Final score:

74points

POST

Red_panda 5 months ago

This isn't weird, this is the healthy thing to do! My daughter has sensitive skin, so I have hee dry all her little nooks and crannies with a hair dryer. Especially her armpits. Poor baby gets horrible rashes if she doesn't make sure she is completely dry.

70points

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

See Also on Bored Panda

French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#24

Girl I used to go to school with would wait till her parents got drunk and nick cash from their wallets.

unders_core_ Report

Final score:

73points

POST

badmotorfinger 5 months ago

This doesn't seem that odd. When I was a young miscreant I would steal a little cash from my folks now and then. They weren't even drunk.

78points

#25

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told During a class reunion a high-school classmate admitted that cityscapes turned him on. Apparently he had a skyscraper fetish.

Heroic-Forger , freddie marriage Report

Final score:

72points

POST

Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 5 months ago

He got a skyscraper looking at skyscrapers.

115points

LegfaceMcCullenE13 , National Cancer Institute Report

#26

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told My friend told me he would regularly lurk around hospitals at late hours with his dating apps on and pick up nurses.

Final score:

71points

POST

KimB 5 months ago

That's an easy way to get a face full of pepper spray!

47points

bippityboppityboing , Michael Fousert Report

#27

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told One of my coworkers, 6 months pregnant at the time, smoking in the employee parking lot.

“Please don’t tell anyone!”.

Final score:

68points

POST

Zephyr343 5 months ago

I'm sure her unborn child already knows

73points

#28

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told She and her husband, with whom she has two kids, are first cousins.

Lyon0922 , Jonathan Borba Report

Final score:

68points

POST

Matthew Savestheworld 5 months ago

I am in USA Tennesse. First cousins is not illegal, but still frowned upon. Illegal incest is limited to siblings, parent and child, and grandparents.

86points

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

See Also on Bored Panda

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#29

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told I reunited with a friend I hadn't seen for a while and she told me she's poly now, she has a boyfriend, but her husband doesn't know.

Majestic-Nobody545 , SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS Report

Final score:

67points

POST

Zephyr343 5 months ago

Ummm that's just cheating

316points

#30

"They Had No Plans To Stop": 30 People Share The Wildest Secrets They Were Ever Told My nephew told me he ate a Skittle from out of a garbage can, yesterday. He didn't mention who's garbage it was, so...the size of the Eww is dependent on where the garbage came from.

KingBrave1 , Karsten Winegeart Report

Final score:

54points

POST

Somethingpenguin 5 months ago

My ex-best friend once ate a starburst from the street. No wrapper - nothing

32points

Note: this post originally had 33 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

Hey there! I'm Shelly, a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. When I'm not working, you'll often find me immersed in creativity, whether it's creating animations, 3D and traditional art, writing, or making music.I've been drawing since I was little, and my passion for visual storytelling really took off after I finished a 2-year Film Academy. It ignited my existing spark for bringing stories to life through visuals. Since then, I've been diving deeper into art and tech, always exploring new ways to tell compelling stories.

Read less »

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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What do you think ?

POST

Captive 5 months ago

I don't care who sleeps with whom. But child abuse is a no go

24points

KimB 5 months ago

What the heck is up with all the incest??? Ick!

20points

similarly 5 months ago

Lol, I'm less bothered by the incest than I am the constant Alabama jokes.

13points

Joy 5 months ago

TRIGGER WARNING! (animal abuse) A co-worker once told me that as a very young child, he was forced to drown a litter of kittens. He was adopted later and was raised in a loving family in a new country, but he said that he can never own a pet now. He's scarred for life.

20points

KimB 5 months ago

:( I hate how some humans treat animals...truly sickening

17points

JJ 5 months ago

My grandma's first boss after finishing school also demanded her to drown kittens. It was right after WWII, so a time where violence at work was still a thing, especially for young women. My grandma refused, got slapped for it and told her grandma (she was raised by her grandparents, her grandfather was a POW in Russia at that time). So my badass grand-grand-grandma went to grandma's boss, slapped him back and told him, if he ever did anything like this again, he would really get to know her. Never happened again.

2points

Bewarethere@gmail.com 4 months ago

Just NO

0points

The Doom Song 5 months ago

I recently found out my grandmother had what sounds like dissociative identity disorder. She had maybe 3 or 4 different personalities. I thought that was rather interesting

8points

Tenebre 5 months ago

The way more than half of these are criminal and no one ever looked into any of these situations (save the one) :(

7points

PFD 5 months ago

Gave up. This was grim.

5points

Ephemera Image 5 months ago

I couldn't finish this. It is sickening. Too much.

3points

KimB 5 months ago

I'm not knocking anyone if being with your cousin is your thing. It's just definitely not mine lol. I have two male cousins one is a raging alcoholic and the other an overly opinionated loud mouth man-child (think MAGA). The last time we were in the same house he challenged me verbally and lost badly everyone was laughing at him, then he stepped on my foot intentionally and hard grinding his heel on my toes so I punched him in the shoulder HARD and sent him to the floor butt first. I kicked his a** when we were kids and I will do it as an adult if I have to!! Then I get in trouble with my aunt because of course she only sees what I do not what he does...lol gotta love family! : D

3points

Apatheist Account2 5 months ago

Fortunately, I've never fancied any of my relatives, or even their partners. I'm sure it was mutual :(

0points

R Dennis 5 months ago

Yeah, I don't share secrets... omerta.

3points

KimB 5 months ago

If you tell, then they're not really secrets anyway!

7points

Shane S 5 months ago

I really don’t care what two consenting adults do in their bedroom but I wish they wouldn’t have children. Didn’t we learn anything from European monarchies? Also makes family reunions super awkward.

1point

Averysleepypanda 5 months ago

TBH, I hate these threads that have become more and more common on BP. They have just become trauma dumping post without any trigger warnings. Always sends my nervous system out of whack. I would avoid clicking them, but there is no way for me knowing based on the title

1point

Petra 5 months ago

What do you mean there's no way of knowing based on the title? Secrets are secrets for a reason. They're never wholesome. At least 99% of the time, anyways.

2points

Salty_Sasquatch 4 months ago

I couldn't read past # 10.

0points

ANGEL BABY 5 months ago

I had to stop reading, absolutely horrible, especially dealing with children!!!!

0points

POST

Captive 5 months ago

I don't care who sleeps with whom. But child abuse is a no go

24points

KimB 5 months ago

What the heck is up with all the incest??? Ick!

20points

similarly 5 months ago

Lol, I'm less bothered by the incest than I am the constant Alabama jokes.

13points

Joy 5 months ago

20points

KimB 5 months ago

:( I hate how some humans treat animals...truly sickening

17points

JJ 5 months ago

2points

Bewarethere@gmail.com 4 months ago

Just NO

0points

The Doom Song 5 months ago

I recently found out my grandmother had what sounds like dissociative identity disorder. She had maybe 3 or 4 different personalities. I thought that was rather interesting

8points

Tenebre 5 months ago

The way more than half of these are criminal and no one ever looked into any of these situations (save the one) :(

7points

PFD 5 months ago

Gave up. This was grim.

5points

Ephemera Image 5 months ago

I couldn't finish this. It is sickening. Too much.

3points

KimB 5 months ago

3points

Apatheist Account2 5 months ago

Fortunately, I've never fancied any of my relatives, or even their partners. I'm sure it was mutual :(

0points

R Dennis 5 months ago

Yeah, I don't share secrets... omerta.

3points

KimB 5 months ago

If you tell, then they're not really secrets anyway!

7points

Shane S 5 months ago

1point

Averysleepypanda 5 months ago

1point

Petra 5 months ago

What do you mean there's no way of knowing based on the title? Secrets are secrets for a reason. They're never wholesome. At least 99% of the time, anyways.

2points