My Dad Let Me Believe I Was Adopted for 30 Years — I Was Shocked When I Finally Learned the Truth

For 30 years, I believed I was adopted—told by my dad that my “real parents” couldn’t keep me. He blamed my struggles on them and took me to the orphanage on birthdays to remind me I was “lucky.”

At 16, I asked for adoption papers. Years later, a visit to the orphanage revealed no record of me. When I confronted Dad, he confessed: I wasn’t adopted. My mom had an affair, and he made up the story to cope.

He even faked the papers.

The truth shattered me, but I left knowing I deserved better. Sometimes, the stories we’re told hide painful secrets.