After years of marriage, a man took his friend’s joke seriously and decided to get his child’s DNA tested. He hoped it would be nothing, but the reality horrified him.

The 34-year-old man already had brewing doubts about the paternity of one of his children. He recently decided to get the child’s DNA tested without telling his wife to put his doubts to rest.

In a long post, Redditor Imdyinginside- took to the platform to reveal his findings, share his feelings and thoughts, and ask for advice about his next steps.

The Original Poster (OP) had been with his wife since they were 20 years old. He said he always thought they had a great relationship, even though it wasn’t perfect.

They had the occasional fight and disagreement like most normal couples but always got through it. They eventually became parents to three children, two boys and a girl.

The OP said his eldest son, who is six years old, is antisocial and looks nothing like OP or the other children. He is also fond of being a nuisance and is always breaking things.

These traits sparked some suspicion in OP, but he banished the thoughts until one of his friends made a joke about “the milkman.” He initially laughed it off.

However, he couldn’t shake off the feeling for some reason and eventually decided to get his son’s DNA tested. He felt terrible for not trusting his wife, but the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away.

He felt more guilty about putting only one child through the test, so he decided to all of his kids so he wouldn’t feel singled out. In the end, results proved that the boy he had felt wasn’t his child was, in fact, his.

Doctor reading results. | Photo: Pexels

Unfortunately for OP, there was a plot twist he didn’t expect. His daughter’s DNA results didn’t match his, and now he believes his wife must have known but decided not to tell him. The shocking news left OP hurt and horrified as he reminisced about the time before her birth.

OP was devastated as it hurt him to find out that the beautiful baby girl he had thought was his firstborn wasn’t his. He recalled how he stayed and cared for his wife when she was pregnant. He would kiss her belly and talk to a fetus he thought he had helped create.

OP was saddened by the idea that his wife may have been aware that the child wasn’t his yet she let him bond with his daughter and love her. He argued that his wife readily made him a fool and watched him do lots of cringeworthy things for a baby that wasn’t his.

Now, the OP feels like an idiot and is repulsed by the mere thoughts of his wife. He went on to reveal that he has not confronted his wife because he fears the outcomes. In his heart, he knows if he brings the issue up, he and his wife will be over.

In light of his plight, other users have asked him not to take drastic actions as the results may be wrong. One user, Pejmany, believes that paternity testing for boys is different than for girls. The user further explained their stance and urged OP to take a retest on his daughter just in case. The user said:

“Before you do anything, just get this retest, and get your wife’s DNA tested with your daughter as well (maternity test). She may have been switched at birth, meaning she would share DNA with neither of you.”

Some advised him to speak to a divorce lawyer and weigh his options before making a decision. Others jokingly suggested that he might be a chimera with two sets of DNA.

A Quora user, Michael Lemke, shared a similar story. After divorcing his wife, she revealed that her 3-year-old daughter wasn’t his.

When he wouldn’t accept her word for it, she demanded blood tests. Knowing that he didn’t want to lose access to the child and no one else was contesting his paternity, he asked the judge not to allow the tests.

The judge understood that he had raised the girl with his biological son as though she was his, and he eventually got custody of both children. They currently live with him and his grandchildren.

Another Quora user also anonymously shared his story after discovering that his last son wasn’t his. His son turned out to belong to his closest friend and business partner.

After divorcing his wife and informing his friend about the boy’s existence, he asked the friend to stay away from the boy and ultimately raised the boy as his.

More users had their stories and opinions to share in regard to OP’s incident. They left these comments:

If you were in the shoes of OP and the other users, what would you do?