23 Relationship Bombshells People Are Hiding From Their Partners That'll Have You Side-Eyeing Your S.O. (2025)

Reddit user Born-Needleworker362 recently asked the r/AskReddit community, "What's the biggest secret you keep from your partner?" While a few revelations were quite sweet, most straight-up gave me trust issues. Here's what people shared:

1. "My gay cousin has caught my father-in-law on Grindr on numerous occasions. My wife and my mother-in-law haven't the slightest clue. I will never tell them."

—Ikenaz1969

2. "I pushed her for a second kid before we were really ready because I had doubts I was the father of our son. Turns out we really do make redheads."

—TortugaJones

3. "I'm worried about her lack of hobbies. I've tried to encourage her to find something to fill her time. She is the love of my life and the best partner and my best friend, but she goes to work and plays mindless mobile phone games, and that's it. I worry that this will become a pattern passed on to our future kids. I'm very open to suggestions about approaching this because I'm at a loss for how to do it delicately. Our relationship is great in every other aspect. Life is too full of opportunities and interesting things to spend your time staring at an iPhone all afternoon."

—Physical-Ad2705

4. "I don't think he's a great artist. I think he had the potential to be good, but he never found his 'thing' and believes that understanding the technicalities of a brushstroke means he is good at said brushstroke. He often tries to give me advice when I am painting, and while I listen, I struggle with taking any advice from someone whose art is mediocre at best. Thankfully, art is not how he makes money."

—FiendishCurry

5. "That I had sex with my ex-wife a week after we started dating. I didn't know she'd eventually become my wife. My ex and I had been talking right before we met."

—Frontline989

6. "I am super jealous of this one online friend he has because I can hear his true laughter. I do not know what he's thinking when talking to them. I try to listen in if it's super late, which sucks because it makes my insecurity worse. Maybe he settled for me. I know there's someone better than me out there. We are married (two years in September) and have big plans for next year. Honestly, I wish he were more obsessed with me."

—Runnergirl868

7. "I was married for three years before I married her."

—Puzzleheaded-Spot84

8. "That I have a long-distance relationship with someone from sexting, and there's some emotional attachment now. She refuses to address or even acknowledge that we have a dead bedroom and no more intimate connection. I'm tired of rejection and being neglected and refuse to die without physical contact or intimacy again."

—Throwaway-999001

9. "That I have a gambling addiction and lost $15k."

—Just_trying_Raddit

10. "That I am responsible for the house fire that burned our house down several years ago. It was an accident, and I was too ashamed to admit it. Don't worry, guys, I came clean a few years back."

—Maybe_Ur_Mami

11. "I don't truly love you. You are just my type."

—Better-Ad-2038

12. "I crashed my car the other day. He came around last night and asked me if I needed any cash. It was sweet, but I lied and said it was fine. I can't afford to pay for it, but I don't want to tell him this. He already does so much for me."

—MeghanSOS

13. "I slept with the wife of one of my best friends before they even started dating (he knows and is cool with it). She is now my wife's favorite friend from my group of people and has no idea."

—Deliberate-7924

14. "That I have sex toys. They stay in a discreet box inside my nightstand, and they will never be information I share with him."

—worth1000words884237

15. "I don't like his brother because I can see he takes advantage of him, has very problematic ideas, and is apathetic. They are very close, and I'm afraid of the influence."

—sureaboutnothin

16. "I don't find her attractive most of the time. If there were a strong physical attraction, we'd go the distance, but I can't see myself being happy with someone whose face is just neutral to me unless our personalities click extremely well. We get along decently well, but that's it. So I need to end things. I just feel so bad because she will be devastated, and I will be lonely again."

—ComformityCreative69

17. "I still stalk my ex's socials from time to time."

—JohanSnowsalot

18. "One of the biggest downsides to our relationship for me is that I wish he were up for exploring more in the bedroom, and the more I grow individually, the more I realize we aren't matched up in this area. Being rejected repeatedly and pushed away when I initiate has made me struggle to want to be close to him."

—One-Addition-7689

19. "When he was emotionally cheating on me a couple of years ago, his best friend told me he liked me and that we could maybe try things after I broke up with my partner."

—luinilofthearda

And here are a few wholesome secrets to cleanse your palate...

20. "I am still hungry sometimes when we nail an amazing recipe, but I pretend to be full so he can have the rest."

—macaroni-robber17

21. "I rewatch shows/movies with her, so she thinks we're watching it for the first time. We have a thing where if one of us watches a show, there is no way in hell the other person will watch it. It needs to be new for both of us."

—Frosty_Range_1839

22. "I love our morning routine so much that I often pretend to be asleep even when I wake up first. My man sleeps like a log. But every time he wakes up, no matter how tired he is, he rolls over to me, hugs me, and gives me a good morning forehead kiss, whether or not I'm awake. I love them so much — SO much that sometimes, when I wake up earlier than him, I nudge him out of his sleep and then pretend to be asleep just so I can feel him slowly waking up and rolling over to give me that forehead kiss. It's only been like half a year with him, but that one tiny thing releases a million butterflies inside my heart and stomach, and I can't wait to experience it every single day when I can finally live with the love of my life."

—Ill_Huckleberry6153

23. Finally: "This is a wholesome secret, but when he's not around, I tell our son to say 'papa.' He's only five months old right now, but I'm hoping my partner will get to share a special moment with our son like that. Of course, when we are together, it's 'Say, mama!' 'No, say papa!' just because it's fun, but secretly, I'm rooting for him to say papa first and will not tell him I've been telling the baby, 'Say papa!' all day when he's at work. I want him to feel special, so I will keep it to myself."

—blueberrybecca

What's a secret you're keeping from your partner? Tell us in the comments or get it off your chest anonymously using this form.