In-Laws from Hell·
THE HIDDEN DAUGHTER
A family feud erupts when a background check reveals a brother's hidden daughter, pulling in in-laws, spouses, and a stubborn stalemate that could fracture everyone involved.
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The family blowup started with a background check and ended with a threatened divorce.
For years, the poster's brother had been trying to go into business with the poster's husband. Nothing had ever worked out, for one reason or another. Then the brother finally came up with an idea the husband thought could actually succeed. Before moving ahead, though, the husband did what he always did: "before my husband goes into business with anyone he does an extensive background check on them."
That check found something nobody in the family knew. The brother had a daughter outside of his marriage.
"I had no idea this child existed," the poster said. "my husband warned me I shouldn't say anything," but a few days later, the poster did anyway. "I told them a few days ago."
The parents did not take long to act. Once they heard the news, "they immediately confronted my brother about it." That confrontation opened up the real reason the child had been hidden for so long. The brother's wife knew the daughter existed, but "his wife is fully aware but said she would leave if he tried to include his daughter in the family." So neither of them had told the parents, or anyone else.
Now the grandparents want a relationship with the child. "My parents want to meet her and include her in our family," the poster said. But the sister-in-law is standing firm: "my sister-in-law is threatening to leave if that happens." The brother, caught between them, will not hand over the child's mother's contact information.
That has pushed the problem onto the husband. "they want my husband to find out for them but he's refusing to get involved." The poster wants to meet the niece too, and told the husband that if he would not give the information, "if he doesn't give me the information I'll ask the friend he uses for background checks myself."
That warning turned into another round of "multiple fights between us."
Meanwhile, the brother is furious. "My brother hates me right now," the poster said, and he is "blaming me for his potential divorce." The poster says they did tell the parents not to confront him right away. "I did ask them not to," the poster said, and insists the blame is unfair because the fallout went far beyond what anyone expected when the hidden daughter came to light.