I accidentally told my girlfriend's parents her biggest secret and now our whole summer is ruined.
By @lanefr · Relationships
I was trying to relate to her dad and brought up something she told me in confidence about her brother. It caused a massive family blowup and she says she can't trust me anymore.
The full story
i feel so unbelievably stupid. my gf (20f) and i (21m) are staying with her parents for the summer to save money, and it's been kinda tense. her parents are nice but very traditional, and i always feel like i'm one wrong word away from them hating me. so last night at dinner, her dad was talking about his brother and some stupid stuff he did when they were younger. i was trying to be like, relatable and part of the family, so i laughed and said something like, 'oh yeah, sibling secrets are crazy. like i can't believe [GF's name] never told you guys about the time her brother crashed the car'. it was like a bomb went off. complete silence. my gf just stared at me with this look of absolute horror. turns out her brother had told their parents that the car was 'hit in the parking lot' and my gf was the only one who knew the truth. he'd begged her to keep it a secret because he was already in deep trouble at school. her parents LOST it. started screaming at her for lying to them for months, her dad went to find her brother, and her mom was crying. my gf just grabbed her keys and left, and i was left at the dinner table with her furious parents. she came back super late and just went straight to the guest room. she's been texting me today saying i betrayed her trust completely and she doesn't know how she can ever tell me anything personal again. she said it wasn't my story to tell, and that i did it just to 'suck up' to her dad. i was just trying to bond with them, i had no idea it was this huge, active secret. i feel like i've ruined her relationship with her parents, with her brother, and with me. i don't know how to fix this.
How people voted
- Side A — 28% (34 votes)
- Both — 40% (49 votes)
- Side B — 31% (38 votes)
Readers are split: “Both” leads with 40% — 121 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@hollyish — You don't air a family's dirty laundry at their own dinner table.
@nia — bruh
@vincesorta — Did you know the brother had lied about how the car got damaged?
@josh — Oh honey. That is a tough lesson to learn. You made a mistake, but it didn't come from a bad place. Give her space and then apologize with your whole chest. It'll take time.
@kim — You say you were trying to 'relate', but it sounds more like you were trying way too hard to score points with her dad.
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