Dating can be a minefield: you never know what kind of info grenade a person might lob in your direction. There are all kinds of secrets people hide from their potential partners. For example, a 2023 study suggests that almost two-thirds of Tinder users are already partnered up or even married.

But that’s not the worst thing you can find out about the person you recently started dating. The stories in one online thread had us in disbelief: it turns out some people even try to pass off their wives and partners as siblings or “best friends.”

These and more are the things people shared in the online thread, prompted by one user asking, “What’s the most insane thing you’ve discovered about someone you dated?” And if these folks’ lies and secrets weren’t so terrible, we would almost be impressed.

#1

When I was 22 I went on a date with a guy who told me he was 26. When we were getting our drinks the waiter accidentally gave me his ID instead of mine. Checked his birthday and he was 50. He did look very young and muscular. I walked out and blocked him that same day. I’m pretty sure the waiter knew what he was doing.

#2

He told me about his half sister and how close they were. Her son was his godson etc. He then told me she was pregnant and he was really down about it because he said that she suspected her husband of cheating and it wasn't a good time for a baby. Long story short, he lied about her being his sister. She was his wife, that godson was his son and that pregnancy was his. The story about the cheating husband–he was referring to himself.

#3

So I dated a guy. I go to his place and its obvious a woman lived there. He says his wife passed and he hadn't changed anything yet. Had he quit there, he might have got away with it. But he kept adding to to the story. Spidey senses started to tingle. Long story short, his estranged wife was alive and well in New York. His live in gf was deployed and his neighbors ratted him out when she eventually came home.

#4

That he and his wife are separated but decided to raise their kids in the same home. Im not kidding.

#5

Wouldn't have been a huge deal, since age doesn't matter to me, but, he told me he was 42, when in fact he was 59. Or put another way, one year older than my mother.

#6

I once dated a man who told me on the first date (I know ) his ex-wife had cheated on him after their daughter was born and left him brokenhearted. Guys. It was him. He cheated. When his daughter was only a few weeks old and his ex-wife was still recovering from a c-section. Men. Pass the beer nuts.

#7

He told me his kids were 12 and 14. They were in fact my age (28).

#8

He only asked me out because we both had red hair, and he wanted red-haired children.

He got what he wanted, but it wasn’t with me.

He told his mother I’m atheist. The first time we met, she demanded to know what I’d teach her grandchildren about God. I was a 19-year-old college student who’d only known her son for two weeks. He was 21 and liked that I couldn’t go in bars yet.

I dumped him, transferred schools and bailed.

#9

I wasn’t even dating this guy… we were FRIENDS! But this guy met someone, got engaged, lived together, got married and bought a HOUSE while him and I were friends and I never knew. He lied the entire time. He told me she was a roommate and he got money from his family to help with the house. One day I was thinking about how weird it was he didn’t have any social media so I googled him and found his wedding registry online and then all of his wedding info and his wife’s fb account.

#10

I had a man tell me his wife has Alzheimer’s so they got divorced. Idk but like the math ain’t mathin. Woman is the love of your life but when she’s down and out you kick her to the curb?! I’m gonna call bull on that one! Also I didn’t realize you can get Alzheimer’s in your 40s if there’s a family history of it but yep idc that is still suss, in my opinion.

#11

He pretended to go to work every morning, sending me pictures from the train and from his office. After a year and a half, I found out that he’s been living in his mother’s garden shed and that he hasn’t had a job for years. He spent all day in my apartment playing PlayStation. And there were many maaany more lies, I was just so stupid and naive.

#12

He told me she left him for another man. He was a single father and all. Worst part he would include the kids on our outings sometimes until I went over unannounced one day turned out she worked away from home and would only visit once or twice a month for a weekend.

#13

Things that were true: his first name, and he liked birds.
Things that were not true: everything else.

#14

I once dated a man who was going through a divorce. He had a ring tattooed on his finger - I would go with him to his tattoo removal appts.

He was not going through a divorce.

#15

Had a dude tell me him and his wife were separated.
He takes me home.
They were only separated geographically. She was a flight attendant. Her flight was canceled and when he went to take me home, she was home.
He drove me back to my car so fast. Never spoke to him again.

#16

My ex used to travel for work (training). We were married for 1.5 years and it was awful. I was young and had his two children and our newborn. During our divorce his coworkers informed me that their company doesn’t travel for work.

#17

My last ex turned out to be a pathological liar and lied about lots of small dumb stuff, but the BIG one was he had a year+ affair with his best friend’s (now ex) fiancé, and occasionally the best friend too.

#18

He had a girlfriend the entire time we dated. Hos brothers knew and didn't say anything about it to me. I'm the person that travels a lot for work, so he saw me apparently while i was home. I found out through someone who just so HAPPENED to know his gf... I reached out and told her everything. She blocked me and they're still together lol.

#19

I went on a date with a guy when I was like 18 (he was older) and I just wasn't into it. He was too into me, I wasnt attracted to him, he brought a really sad movie over to watch, just weird vibes. Anyway he called me later and said he felt bad lying because he was so into me, he had a girlfriend he lived with and the reason he didn't text me (we emailed) is cuz they share a phone. yikes.

#20

Lied about his last name, job, and other things. I only found out because I was at his apartment and saw a receipt for dry cleaning that was made out to him, but with a different last name. Immediately realized he must be married. Was separated, but not divorced, and he lied. The end. I was gone.

#21

I dated someone who had a history of domestic violence and order for protection violations. I knew none of this until I, myself, needed an OFP against them. It was scary but luckily it worked and after two years no contact they moved along to what I can only imagine was their next victim. I saw them once in Target shopping but they didn’t see me as I’ve never u-turned a cart in an aisle so quickly.

#22

I had a fake widower too. I think he gave me his phone number so I got a name, then her name, and she was quoted in a recent newspaper article and they still owned the home together (looked up public records). That was the only time I contacted a wife. I printed out his profile (website, pre-app days) and mailed it to her in a greeting card style envelope. Blocked him and didn’t tell him anything.

#23

I dated a man on and off for years that I kept very casual. He was a bachelor - travelled a lot for work and although he often would try and sell me on a relationship I knew he was just a good time. He had called one night professing his love etc… I had a young son and he lived in another state so it was easy enough to keep him at bay. The next day I got a call. A woman asking me if I knew this man..” turns out it was his gf. Of 10 years. She went on and on about how he had another gf in another country.

#24

I was a teenager and did promo work for Kerrygold (the butter and cheese lol). His dad had just d**d and he was going through a really rough time, considering he was also on chemo for his recent cancer diagnosis. I was supposed to go with him to the funeral but he said he needed to do it alone so I picked up a shift.

Guess who walked up to get a sample and say hi. His dad. I told him everything and all he had to say was “what cancer? William doesn’t have cancer?”

This man double messed with me.

#25

A woman got this crazy look on her face and said I looked just like the man who mistreated her dog and she vowed to punish that man. The dog a very muscle bound staffordshire terrier was between my legs. I was convinced she was going to give a command for that dog to attack. While signaling for the check and slowly backing away from her and the dog the bartender said “ I heard that man …. RUN! I got the drinks “. I walked out of that bar and RAN to my truck. First date BTW. Better story in.

#26

Not someone I actually dated, but someone I was talking to. Turns out he was married with kids, a detail he conveniently forgot to mention. I found out while listening to a podcast he was on. When I confronted him, he blocked me. Honestly, all it did was remind me how glad I am that he’s not my problem.

#27

A man once told me he had divorced his wife because she cheated on him with his best friend.

Turns out he was the cheater, the wife had never cheated. Not only the best friend had never cheated with the wife, the best friend was also suing that man for misappropriating and embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in a business deal they had partnered on.

The ex-wife, mom of his 4 kids, told me years later what really happened. Interestingly she did not seem surprised he said these lies.

#28

My ex-husband told me his cousin was going through a tough time because he met a ‘nice’ doctor lady he wanted to pursue a relationship but was torn because he had a pregnant finance and a girlfriend (they were a throuple).

Whole time it was him cheating on me with said doctor lady! The ‘nice’ doctor lady didn’t put him up when I put him out. He spent winter 2025/2026 living in his truck.

I HAVE NO REGRETS!

#29

Kept running into the same guy at the club. This was the '80s. Finally agreed to go back to his house, which he said he lived in with his brothers. He worked as a mechanic and made good money. After we hook up, I go to use the bathroom. Apparently I got misdirected to the wrong bathroom. It was his mom's. There was older women's cosmetics, women's magazines, the same as my mom used and read. I got out of there quick and we were no longer a thing.

#30

He convinced numerous people he was a regular on a popular TV show for a few seasons. (There was an actor on the show who resembled him and had a similar name).

#31

Created a 2nd fb account to tell 400 friends about his new Fiance 2 months after we broke up. We had 240 mutual friends on another account and he forgot he had added me to the 400 people he was hiding from me. He was then outed by mgmt as having lived in my apt with her 4 months before I moved in. They asked why I still talk to him. I didn't believe it. She showed me his file. He worked very hard on making sure i didn't feel the need to tell his wife.

#32

That he and his wife were separated and the divorce was pending. Just needed signatures but it “was complicated” because he was in the military. He said he lived alone. Then his wife called me and told me they never discussed divorce, she found my info. on his computer. And she very much lived in the same house as him. I never spoke to him
again, but I really hope she got everything she wanted, and more, in their eventual divorce.

#33

Dude told me he ended his long term relationship but was still living with said ex, just sleeping separately. He brought me over for Netflix and chill. No evidence that either were sleeping on the couch in this 1bed apt and the apt was suspiciously spotless, save for the cat (3x) hair in the carpet. I would later find out thru the grapevine that the relationship with this cohabitating "ex" was still active and is a co-op. I also found out thru the same grapevine that his behavior hasn't changed.

#34

I found out my (now ex) husband had told someone a story about how I passed away in a car crash. Honestly don't know if it was to garner sympathy, appear single or for more malicious purpose or he was just a compulsive liar. Though all of those could be true. I've dated men that were "never married" and then slow reveal they have a child, then they live with their child's mother but aren't together, which by then I realise the lie, which they denied because they "never married in a church" FFS.

#35

Jesus. These men are terrible but I found out through another girl friend from her bf who’s friends with my bf at the time… that he cheated on me because I confronted him that sending intimate messages and stuff is emotional cheating. And this guy said to his friends “if she thinks that’s cheating, then I’ll cheat on her for real” and slept with his ex lol.

#36

I was very unhappily married for 13 years. When I divorced, I wasn’t really interested in dating, but I reconnected with an old high school boyfriend, so we dated a bit. I found out he was a serial intimate pic sender. Sent them to everyone, including his friends’ wives. Ew. Haven’t been with a man since.

#37

It was just a fling, so I didn’t expect exclusivity. However: I found out through other people that he was in an open relationship with an ex of his BROTHER. The brother was very blindsided by this, as this happened behind his back; there was no prior conversation or asking him if that made him uncomfortable. I felt honestly quite disgusted and ended it immediately.

#38

My best friends husband cheated on her and got the mistress pregnant. They were both in the military, stationed in Vegas. Shortly after I married my NOW ex-husband, I went to Vegas to help her get her stuff in order and figure out how to move forward with her impending divorce. While I was away, my ex had a woman he met on the beat in our apartment, in our bed, taking care of our daughter after telling her I left them and was never coming back. My daughter was 1.5yrs old. 1/2.

#39

There's a guy here on Threads that tells people his wife passed in childbirth, and that child passed at 21. He's a prolific romance scammer. His wife is still alive and living with him, while he scams others.

It's the cruelty.

#40

I was dating a man who was engaged to a woman who had chronic illness and was bedridden living with her parents in another state. I knew about her, but he always referred to her as his ex. On time he told me he was visiting his sister for a week in NY, and I looked at his exes instagram and there he was next to her bedside with flowers. She even posted a photo saying goodbye to him the last morning he was visiting her. That night he showed up to meet me in the same outfit.

#41

I offhandedly mentioned to a guy I was dating that he would look good with his mustache trimmed, maybe trim the handlebars. The next day he volunteered on the phone that he had done as I suggested, and it looked really really good! When I saw him the next day, he...clearly hadn't trimmed his mustache. If he'd said he was going to, then didn't, that'd be one thing, but he said he HAD and...hadn't. That's when I started learning that a real liar will lie all the time, about literally anything.

#42

I found out my ex husband was still married to his first wife when he married me.

#43

More funny than insane but: I once had a man ask me SEVEN years after we broke up if my THREE year old was his. Sir…. Please I’m begging you to learn to count.

#44

9 months into the relationship, found out he had a 7 month old child.

#45

That my ex was gay. Like full MAN'S MAN. Trucks, beard, yells at football, grills in shorts in -10 weather. I thought I landed a lumberjack. Turns out he REALLY was a man's man, just not THIS man's man.

#46

I once dated a man who I later found out was ENGAGED. And I don’t mean casually seeing me on the side. This man literally moved out of his parents’ house and INTO MY APARTMENT, an hour and a half away from where he and his fiancée were from. I had absolutely NO IDEA she existed. And the craziest part? He went on to MARRY HER after all of this. The level of deception was actually INSANE.

#47

So I went to court with her (as moral support) what I didn't know at the time was it was against her mom. There was property damage and apparently she had slept with her step dad.

#48

He had knocked up his step-sister 3 months before we started dating and told me 3 months in.

#49

The guy who told me his wife and son passed and implied it was 9/11-related but was so torn up he couldn’t discuss it and also something wire his wedding ring “to feel close to her.” You can imagine the rest.

#50

Not dated, per se, but a guy with whom I had an very intense online friendship with, here on a Threads.

He slid into my DMs when we connected over a mutual interest, and I was smitten for couple of months, until I realized he was doing the exact same thing with MULTIPLE women.

#51

I found out he had a girl in another state that he had been "just friends with". He had visited her several times over the years, before we got together. They "talked" all the time. On video chat. Without clothes. Found out the day his mom passed. Broke up with him. She can comfort you now.

#52

That HE was the cause of his sons brain injury.

#53

I didn’t date him but we were in the getting to know each other stage over chatting long distance.

He told me he was single, owned a home, a nice car, had a well paying job, no kids, never been married … you know text book too good to be true type of guy. Well, one day his wife messages me & says he’s a liar. They have been married for 20 years. They live in a trailer. He doesn’t own a car. He was on disability & he didn’t have a job. They had 5 kids. All I could do was laugh.

#54

Went out with a man with him and shad I thought was a little girl that was a family member; he was babysitting. Turns out it was his girlfriend’s daughter.

#55

Not dated -married. Found out during COVID he and his ex wife and a kid they gave up for adoption- never told me never allowed me to make a decision if I wanted to continue the relationship before we got married. Found this out during COVID when the daughter tracked down her birth mother and father. He said he would have kept it a secret from me and my daughters. I still wonder what else I don’t know. 40+ years of a relationship all a lie.

#56

He told me he lived alone I was young he was young but it’s not unheard of because I in fact lived ALONE.

Sitting on his living room couch doing what young love couples do his mama and her booty call for the night walked through his front door and straight up the stairs SIR!!!!!!! I will not be messed with.

#57

Oh which one to chose. One when I was 18 told me he was both engaged to be married AND dating a 16 y/o when he showed up at my place with the young one thinking we'd be friends...The other waited till we were well into dating before he told me he was dating someone else he was in love with. Several years later he popped back up to catch up and he told me it's on now. He's MARRIED but in an open relationship. I just attract jerks.

#58

One said he was divorced. He even gave me money. He took me out during his lunchbreak. As he sat across from me, he took a bite of his sandwich & I saw a ring on his left ring finger. He put his hand under the table & the next time the ring was off.
After lunch I reminded him to put his ring back on. He swore he only wears it at work for insurance reasons blah blah blah. Very next day, I get a FB from his wife. We had a girl2girl convo. Never saw him again.

#59

That the divorce of 9 years ago wasn’t real, they were very much married, living together and also ran a business together.

#60

1. his truck blew a tire (ex that I found out was cheating on me for 2 years with many women) also said he dropped out of NYU, was a firefighter, they were all lies. I know I’m stupid for dating him, but I lived and I learned.
2. him and his gf broke up but still lived in the same apartment (1st date with some dude in college, never went out again)
3. “We are divorced and she lives in South America” (not divorced & has a son).
4. 90% of military guys “I’m not married or have a gf.”

#61

Wow! The stories on here are scary and I definitely don't have one anywhere close (which I understand is male privilege)!

For me, the most insane thing I "learned" (never officially confirmed) about someone I dated was that she claimed to have never eaten fast food ever in her life, that her favorite food was caviar and that she ate it with every meal (she was very rich by the way), and that she was sure tacos al pastor must be terrible if they're $1! Oh, and she hated seafood! (1/2).

#62

That his entire LIFE he told me about was a lie. Well maybe not everything but nearly all of it. His job: lie. His residence: lie. His mom being sick: lie. And then later I find out he’s lying to a bunch of his online friends about who he is and what he does. A DIFFERENT LIE than he told me. I was emotionally catfished.

#63

That he was living with his daughters grandma which I assumed was his mother but was young and dumb and came to find out he was living with his baby mamas mom sleeping in bed with his bm every night.

#64

When I worked overseas, a sorta coworker (the work site was multiple companies thrown together tbh) and I hit it off at a group outing. We had SEVERAL convos about WHY we were both single w/no kids in our 30s. Dude would blow my phone up, call even while jogging on a treadmill, whispered he loved me (which I ignored bc it had only been a month). Anywho: in reality he was married with 2 kids and 1 on the way. I DISCOVERED this (he didn’t tell me) before a leave period back to the US.

#65

I had one really fun date with a married guy. I still never saw him again after he told me over drinks at KGB bar after a long, fun night of talking, kissing and dancing. He said they were married but long distance as she played Mrs. Claus in the Christmas Spectacular in Chicago and had a physical issue that prevented them from being able to be intimate. Um. No thank you.

#66

He lied to me about his age for years, even had a fake ID.

66 People Share The Craziest Things They Learned About The People They Were Dating

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