There are millions of ways people’s lives can change irrevocably in just one brief moment, and unfortunately, many of them don’t entail a change for the better.

Take this redditor, for instance. Her life turned completely upside down in one brief moment, when, after an unfortunate incident at home, rumors started spreading about her husband. One day, he accidentally walked in on his stepdaughter in the bathroom, who later started making up scenarios with her cousin, and soon enough the entire family was convinced of some debatable accusations. Scroll down to find the full story below, where you will also find an update on how the situation developed.

Sometimes, all it takes is one moment or one conversation to turn people’s lives completely upside down

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This woman suddenly found herself without a husband and without a home, all because of her daughter’s lies

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Image credits: Prostock-studio / Envato (not the actual photo)

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Fellow netizens shared their thoughts in the comments, and the OP replied to some of them

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Despite significant consequences, people making false allegations is not unheard of

Talking about her daughter’s lies, the OP told Bored Panda that she has never done anything like this before. “She hasn’t and I have no idea why she did this,” the redditor said, adding that she now feels even more depressed, as it looks like there is no way she can get her husband back after what happened.

The OP also shared being surprised by her family’s reaction to the situation, as they “refused to listen to anything she said and accused her of protecting a creep.”

Being accused of wrongdoings you are not responsible for can be infuriating, even if it’s something as seemingly insignificant as eating someone’s lunch. But facing allegations for something that is considered a crime is not only maddening but alarming, because of all that’s at stake.

Unfortunately, the possible consequences don’t stop certain people from making false accusations. Studies suggest that the prevalence of false allegations stands somewhere between 2% and 10%. To make matters worse, a different study that delved deeper into the motives behind filing false allegations found that some people can’t even answer why they made them.

According to the latter study, the main motivating force behind people making false allegations was emotional gain, but some of them reported having more than one motive; roughly a fifth admitted that they didn’t even know why they made such accusations themselves. The survey also found that the majority of people’s false accusations were used to cover up other behavior, such as adultery or skipping school.

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Being wrongfully accused of something can have a detrimental effect on a person’s well-being, as well as their relationships and career

Needless to say, being falsely accused of wrongdoing can be traumatic for many reasons. As the OP’s story shows, it affects not only the person’s well-being, but their relationships, and even work, too. A 2020 study on the psychological impact of being wrongfully accused of criminal offenses notes, “The impact of wrongful accusation is frequently complex and long-lasting, with participants reporting negative impacts on their self-identity, reputation, psychological and physical health, relationships with others, attitudes towards the justice system, finances and adjusting to life after their convictions were overturned. These problems appeared to compound each other and exacerbate the psychological difficulties experienced by the wrongfully accused.”

In addition, the aforementioned study emphasized that the public tends to perceive those who were wrongly accused negatively, even after they are exonerated. “Research suggests public perceptions of exonerees tend to be negative and not dissimilar to perceptions of actual offenders, despite knowing they had been exonerated,” the research read in part. “This may be because the public is concerned that the exoneration process itself was flawed, and they prefer to believe the veracity of the original conviction, despite the outcome of the legal review process.”

Even though the OP’s daughter eventually came clean, telling her family members all about the situation and trying to clear her stepdad’s name, he didn’t think there was a way to repair the damage that was already done. Roughly a week after sharing her story with the online community, the woman provided an update, saying that her husband had asked for a divorce, which also meant that the mother and daughter had to leave their home, as it had originally belonged to the OP’s husband.

Roughly a week later, the woman shared an update on how the situation developed

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Image credits: Blake Cheek / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

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Netizens suggested that the woman should leave her soon-to-be ex-husband be, as there was no coming back from the situation

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