My Husband Said He Was Training for a Marathon Every Saturday Morning—Three Months Later, a Local School Called About His Daughter I Never Knew Existed

Marriages are built on honesty, but what happens when you start questioning everything you knew?

I’ve always been Nick’s biggest supporter. We met six years ago at a barbecue, where his bad jokes and 90s pop culture knowledge won me over. A year later, we married and quickly fell into a happy routine. Nick worked as a graphic designer, and I managed a bookstore. We spent lots of time together, talking about everything, even our fears and embarrassing moments.

But when Nick turned 34, things changed. He became obsessed with milestones, wanting to achieve something big before 35. Instead of traveling, he announced he wanted to run a marathon, even though he’d never been a runner. I supported him, and soon, he joined a Saturday morning training group.

Every Saturday, while I slept in, he would train with Jake and Chris, two guys he’d tell me about constantly. He’d come home sweaty, tired, and glowing with satisfaction. Then, one day, Nick’s phone rang while it was left at home. It was a call from “Parkview Elementary” about a sick child. The caller referred to “his daughter.” I froze, confused. We’d never discussed having kids, but Nick had always said we’d wait a few years. What if he had a child I didn’t know about?

That evening, I asked Nick casually about his day, and he seemed fine, but my mind was racing. I remembered the location of his training park, close to the school. The next Saturday, I followed him, trying to piece everything together. To my relief, Nick and his friends were training as usual, but then I saw her—a little girl running toward one of the men, calling him “Daddy.” Nick didn’t even look back.

When Nick came home, I told him everything—about the phone call, my suspicions, and what I had seen. He laughed, showing me a series of texts explaining how Jake had borrowed his phone two weeks ago to make calls about his daughter’s field trip. The school had auto-saved Nick’s number and called him when the girl got sick.

I was embarrassed, but we both laughed. And now, whenever he leaves for a run, he jokes about visiting his “secret family.”