Leading a double life can be exhilarating, but also very stressful. It can be difficult not to give the game away and let someone in on your secret. Here are some examples of people who perfectly partitioned their worlds and maintained incredible double lives.

Across the Pond

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I'm English, but have spent much of my youth in the US, and live here now with a green card. When I worked retail, I adopted an American accent, because it's more efficient than having to explain to everyone that I'm English and moved here when I was 14 etc etc. It was just more efficient.

This continued into office jobs until we were in a meeting with some English clients, who spoke first. I immediately went English. By boss looks at me for second, stops the meeting and says "Are you having a stroke?"

Then I had to explain and we wasted half an hour. Sigh. Story credit: Reddit / UnknownQTY

DJ Teacher

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About 14 years ago after I just graduated college I got a job teaching at a middle school but I was still DJing nights at an goth-industrial night club.

Teacher by day, Rivethead DJ by night. that's about as double-life as I have ever been. It didn't last tho, I was having a hard time stayin alert and awake at school... so I gave up the teaching. Story credit: Reddit / Roobomatic

Twelve-Year Old Scammer

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During the great depression my grandfather was injured at his job and couldn't work. For a year, to keep the family going, my then 12 year old father and his older brother dropped out of school and ran "change raising" scams on shop keepers in Cleveland Ohio for money, pretty much as the family's only income.

My grandparents knew about it, didn't approve, but didn't stop them either, it's just what kept food on the table in tough times. After a year, grandpa went back to work, and my dad and uncle went back to school and to just being regular kids again.

"Change Raising" is a generic term for several variations for scamming a cashier while they are giving you your change from whatever purchase you just made.

They are all various cover stories for getting the cashier to combine several change-giving transactions at the same time, and the cashier ultimately ends up giving you too much change for your purchase. The scammer ends up with both the item and some extra cash. When it's done well the cashier won't even know it happened.

My father taught me how to do several variations of it, including one that is still probably not well known. He showed it to me with me as the "cashier" and, even knowing it was going to happen, he still had to slow down and explain to me where the mistake occurs. With the right person doing it, it's slick. Story credit: Reddit / picksandchooses

The Best of Both Worlds

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In highschool, I was the the quiet nerdy guy. Glasses, shaggy hair, always had a book in my hands. And then I went home I would change clothes, put in contacts, grab my equipment, and was by night one of the major players in the dj scene where I lived.

It was at the point I would run into people from school and they wouldn't recognize me. Both were my REAL life, and both were who I REALLY loved to be, each in their respective venues. Story credit: Reddit / Boneshansen93

The Fake Graduate

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I failed out of college at 18. Went back at 22. One semster short of graduating and I fail out…again. Don't really want to tell my friends and family I screwed the pooch twice, so I continue "my last semester" as though everything was great.

Even concinced my parents that "walking the line" was stupid and would take 5 hours to complete. They bought it, so now that I "have my degree", I begin searching for jobs like any normal college graduate.

Applying for jobs, and really can't put down on applications that I have a degree because…well I don't. (This entire time, from my second fail out, all I do everyday is try and keep up with the lies and stories I've told to all the curious family and friends.)

I finally have to make up a job that I'm going to every morning, because why shouldn't a smart, hard working, COLLEGE EDUCATED young man not have a job?!?! RIGHT!?!?

Eventually it all came falling down on me and the truth was revealed about my web of lies and deceit. Other than losing the trust of those closest to me, the weight of the world was lifted from my mind as I was able to go back to living ONE honest life, and not two lives of lies. Story credit: Reddit / AlfalfaMail

Homeless Fashionista

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I work in mid town manhattan for a luxury fashion company. I am homeless. I shower at the gym and then go back to the office and sleep. Only the cleaning lady knows I am there so late, the security guards think I am a work aholic.

I make ok money, but I don't have a home. Story credit: Reddit / A_certain_skillset

Dating the Boss

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I was 24 and worked at a very large corporate casino with my roommate and a few very close friends. I began secretly seeing my 40 year old boss against company policy. We dated saw each other for about a year and a half.

It was awful having to lie to my friends about who I was staying with some nights, dating, etc. For fear of losing our jobs we kept the secret. It was so hard. I didn't even realize until the relationship was over that I was leading a double life. Although he was a great guy, it was relieving when it ended so I didn't have to lie anymore. Story credit: Reddit / TheStonedSexy

She's the Man

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In high school I would pretend to be a different person anytime I was out with friends. I had a different name, and accent, and a totally different personality. I don't mean that my friends didnt know that I was doing it because they did.

It was a game to them but I had been doing far before I met them. I did this from the 6th grade to 12th grade. I had a phone app so people could text me if I met them while I was not "me." There were people who I knew for years who had no idea that I wasn't some Australian kid.

The person that I pretended to be was a male, I am female. I am not an ugly person (at least it doesn't seem that way). But I have been called attractive and got a lot of numbers when I was male and have had the same reaction from people when I am myself.

I have no gender issues. I just wanted to be as far away from myself as possible. But it turned out I could look like a boy if i wanted. Story credit: Reddit / soapyfork

Model Behavior

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From my sophomore year in high school (living in a not-so popular town in Texas) I was signed with a professional modeling agency in New York City.

Every break I had from school was spent living in a model's apartment with different women from around the world and we would all go to castings that the agency sent us to. No one at school knew anything up until my junior year when I was published in popular magazines that were distributed across the country.

At home/in school I was nerdy and shy but I was totally confident and outgoing while working as a professional model. Story credit: Reddit / nolikey

International Family

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I have a wife and 5 year old child in another country. I send money home and speak to my daughter every two weeks. I have a significant other and a 6 month old where I currently live.

It isn't that hard to keep a secret. My only family in this country is my brother. He knows my significant other and actually lives with us, and has never mentioned a word about my double-life. My wife back in my home country friend requested me on Facebook. I denied the request.

My significant other here knows about my daughter and that I send money. How did it begin? I had been here three years when I met my significant other. I'm weak and was lonely. One thing lead to another, and here we are. Story credit: Reddit / HippoThePottumus

Playing With Fire

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Well, once I get back into my career again (aging parents with health issues… Arg), I will probably go back to being an engineer by day, fire performance circus freak by night. Whoever said it was a bad thing to run away and join the circus was wrong has no idea how awesome it can be!

Every day I don my business casual, and when I get home, I spend my free time working on my choreography, costuming, and body paint ideas! Oh, and I get to tell people I have a literal license to burn.

And I get to light myself on fire for public displays of awesome! And in the morning, I go back to work saving lives by improving the designs of medical devices. Story credit: Reddit / relaci

Internet Famous

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I'm what I jokingly refer to as a D-list YouTube celebrity. Not famous by any means, but every so often people will recognize me or I'll be in a video that will make the rounds on popular blogs. But many of my friends aren't in the entertainment industry so they're completely shocked when worlds collide.

In college it was especially funny. I worked for a pretty big YouTube channel (barelypolitical/The Key of Awesome for you YouTube fans out there) and acted in a bunch of their videos.

When people asked where I worked, I usually just said I worked for a production company, because unless they were really into YouTube they wouldn't understand my job ("wait, you can make money off YouTube??"). A lot of my friends didn't even really know/care what I did.

But every so often a video I was in would go viral and I'd have people coming up to me in classes like "Did I just see you on Perez??"

I once went to a YouTube event with a friend and she was shocked and COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING when I was mobbed by a bunch of eager 10-year-olds wanting autographs. Story credit: Reddit / challengereality

Secret Experiments

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Life 1: Pretty typical college student. Classes, problem sets, going out with friends on the weekends.

Life 2: Total authority over what treatments were allowed for a genetically ill and (improperly classified as) mentally ill patient at an institute specializing in highly secretive questionably legal experimental medicine, who were very interested in doing 'research' on my ward.

That was one of the most emotionally draining and jading periods of my life. Story credit: Reddit / iunocgauoicgrmhpf

Life Online

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I started posting on myspace forums randomly in 2006 when I stumbled upon them. I didnt realize at first but only about 200 people used the general discussion forum regularly. I became close with a lot of them, many of them living out of my state and country.

When everyone left myspace and switched to facebook it was too weird having them on my regular facebook because it appeared as though i had a lot of made up accounts that I pretended were my friends because none of them were local so I had a facebook just for them.

Since facebook is terrible with privacy it eventually suggested both of my facebooks to all of my friends and they saw I had two, which was really weird as well.

I eventually merged them (my lives), and people are kind of weirded out when I explain that I have met a bunch of people online from myspace, but they get over it. I have met about 20 of them in real life, have remained friends with probably 80 of them.

I have "internet dated" 3 of them, only actually meeting one of those people in real life, someone from the country of Estonia. Story credit: Reddit / lexgrub

In the Closet

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I have a kid and a fiancée and own my own home. About 70% of the time I think I want to be with a guy. I fantasize about men, imagine being with them, etc, etc. And even though I say I am not ashamed to be bisexual, the thought of being with a man embarrasses me. Pretty horrible. Story credit: Reddit / deep_in_the_closet

Fake ID

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It began in year two at university, 19 years old, in a college town with a major downtown bar scene. Cue roommate from Brazil with fake Brazilian ID who has phenomenal photoshop skills. With some Italian in my blood, I looked like I could pull it off.

Scan ID, change picture, change names, add my signature and there we have it: a fake, foriegn ID that bouncers rarely know any details about. Every week for two years, I went downtown as a Brazilian 22 year old and met a huge variety of people (some knowing my secret, some not).

With an atrocious Italian/Russian accent, sprinkled with some foreign style, I could go downtown and live a second life where I wasn't myself or even American, but a foreign exchange student ready to enjoy some beer. Story credit: Reddit / certifiedostrich

Fourth Time's The Charm

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My grandpa and his older brother were Jewish teenagers on their way to college shortly after the Holocaust. Due to the hatred of Jews, my grandpa and his brother had a lot of difficulty finding a job and getting into school because of their last name.

My grandpa applied to the same university three times, always getting denied. This is when he decided to take action and change his last name to something less obvious. Him and his older brother went to a courthouse and changed their last name to March.

(They changed it to March because that was the month they changed it in.) Come a few months later, my grandpa once more submitted his application and got accepted. Story credit: Reddit / alexsass

All-American Girl

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Outside of the home, I'm a normal American white girl. Inside the house, though, I'm Ukrainian. Gotta love the borscht and perogies. Sometimes the two sides clash, but I like to keep them apart. No Americans inside my Ukrainian mess. Story credit: Reddit / hollythorn101

The Waiting Game

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I got a second job and only one of my employers knows about the other. I wait tables. I feel like I'm living a double life though. I've been putting some request off and swapping shifts around to make it work.

It's only been 2 weeks and I've been spotted a few times by a couple of regulars that frequent both restaurants. I told one of the guys I just found a shirt and they let me keep it and I really don't think he bought it. Story credit: Reddit / di_ib

Never Trust a Pilot

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My mother's a flight attendant and she has all these stories about pilots having more than one family. Some even had 3 or more. They all have houses for each family with several children, a lot somehow "married" each wife without anyone knowing it wasn't legit.

They get away with it for so long because flying across the country for days or weeks at a time is their job. Story credit: Reddit / Gingergiggles

Secret Heiress

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None of my friends know that I am the granddaughter and heiress to a shipping magnate. I have always lived extremely comfortably.

I go to art school, where most of my friends come from middle - lower income families, and have taken out substantial student loans. Sometimes I have to help my friends pay for some groceries, because they just don't have enough money.

I have been told explicitly by my family that I, under no circumstances, am allowed to digress my economic situation to anyone. My parents want to protect me, and they don't want my economic status to attract negative attention to myself.

I hate my situation. I know the first thought that will probably come to your mind is "wow, your life must be so easy!! You're rich!" Well, it sucks. I'm not going to deny that I am very fortunate and blessed and lucky, but it sucks having to pretend to be someone else 24/7 and lie to people on a daily basis about your family.

It sucks being too embarrassed to tell people what my parents do, or invite them over my house. It's isolating and I have never felt like I have belonged. Story credit: Reddit / hannaiscool

Nanny by Day

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I just recently ended working two jobs, first and foremost a full-time nanny, and the other being one-four days a week at my very first job in a fast food restaurant. I don't really regret it, I was having a hard time making ends meet since I had moved out of my parents.

I had quit to be a nanny, and came back on when the holidays rolled around and I just… Didn't leave, for quite a few months, lol. What I can say I regret was not telling my SO. I had a lot of neat friends there that I never was able to mention to him funny work related things.

I just felt like he would think less of me knowing I worked there. He eventually found out because his mother came in (and at that point I had never met her, so she only could assume it was me). Story credit: Reddit / MarjorieBowling503

Fake Freshman

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I graduated from college when I was 17 but I wanted to experience college for reals so when I went to grad school I pretended to be a regular freshman. I was in the dorms, meal plan, everything. Even rushed a fraternity.

When people asked me about classes I just brushed them off, like "oh I'm just focusing on GE's right now" or "yeah I did that requirement in high school." I started to tell people toward the end of the year but nobody really cared. Story credit: Reddit / Hollyleaf

I'm Known As Alice

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I'm trans and have been transitioning recently. Everyone at my household knows this but refuse to acknowledge it, and all my friends know and are accepting. This became a sort of double life. At home I have to pretend I'm a guy to avoid criticism.

I wear the worst guy shirts I own, and I have to actively keep my voice down. I've had to wear sports bras before too. My dad tends to get angry that I barely talk. They refuse to use my preferred name so instead I get called by the name I hate.

To my friends I'm not though, so I'll wear my more feminine clothing and talk in a higher pitched, softer voice. They all know me as a transchick and that's what I am to them. I'm Alice to.. Well... Everyone else.

It's mentally exhausting, it's a huge drain on the system - especially when I'm home. It's a double life you're actively conscious about, and it sucks. Story credit: Reddit / Cyberogue

No Regrets

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Graduated from the same University as my SO of 5 years. We were both accepted into a paid internship by the same company but were separated. Her branch was in the East Coast while I was accepted on the West. Housing was provided with other interns, all of whom were either still in college or recent grads.

Obviously, throwing several hundred college-aged kids into an apartment complex without any homework led to some pretty productive evenings. I should mention that prior to this, my SO and I were in an open relationship.

As such, there was no guilt when getting involved with other interns, as long as it was no strings attached without any emotional ties. At some point however, feelings developed with another intern despite her knowing full well of my relationship and arrangement.

One thing led to another and suddenly we were practically by each other's side at every waking moment, save for when the job required us. Despite having broken the cardinal rule, I did not possess a shred of guilt or regret.

Rather, it felt that this internship, on the other side of the continent, with brand new people all on equal footing, was as if someone had hit the reset button on my life. I had received a free, all expenses paid, chance to do things entirely different that didn't seem to impact my previous life.

I believe that it was that particular feeling that qualifies as a post for this topic. What resulted from this act is something else entirely. However, for the duration of the internship period, I was living a completely different life. Story credit: Reddit / dog_biscuits

Belgian Aussie

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I was an orientation leader at my university, Im quite good at accents and spoke with an Australian accent the entire summer. The other employees, my students, and my bosses all thought I was Australian.

If someone didnt buy it (which was rare) I would say I was Belgian but learned english in Australia as a child, then show my Belgian ID. I was raised in and have never lived anywhere but the east coast of the US. My mother is Belgian so I have a dual citizenship and can speak decent Dutch.

The best part is I would inevitably get asked to do an American accent, at which point I would speak in my normal voice. Some people were impressed, most thought it sounded "fake." Story credit: Reddit / nilsrva

Second Family

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My best friend's boyfriend is literally a bastard, and has two older brothers. Their father is married to another woman with 3 more children and they have no idea about this family. His dad visits them every so often and gives them money. Story credit: Reddit / eneka

The Canadian

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My buddies Jim and Max and I went out on this epic bike trip, 1500 miles around VT and Maine and stuff. We're at a bar in Burlington, and my buddy Jim becomes "The Canadian."

He came up with it a month prior. He pretends he's from Montreal and only speaks french, but he has enough broken english to "get by." So he'll chain together nonsense and tiny phrases in a french-canadian accent. Kids love it.

Anyways, we're at a bar, and Jim is bumbling out "I am.. from... Canada, Montreal, Quebec" and a french canadian turns around at the table next to us! "You are from Montreal? Bonjour! (Speaks several french sentences)." It was incredibly funny watching him fess up.

The actual canadian was legitimately confused for a beat because his english wasn't so good. We actually ended up drinking with that Canadian dude all night. Story credit: Reddit / IAMAfortunecookieAMA

What's in a Name?

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I have a name that's unpronounceable to most Americans. In elementary school instead of listening to them mangle my name, I decided to choose a random English name to go by while in the States. Quite a lot of foreigners do this.

A year came and went, and now I was in a new class with new teachers and new classmates. I decided on a whim to choose a different name to go by that year. I've been doing it every time I'm in a new social circle since then. I can tell when and where I met someone by what they call me. Story credit: Reddit / MushroomMountain123

Beard Buddies

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I'm South Asian, and I'm a gay lady. Coming out to my family is absolutely not an option right now, but all my friends (and pretty much everyone else) are in on it. I have guy friends who help me out by playing my beards and everything. Story credit: Reddit / _clevermeals

The Other Woman

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I am someone's double life ie; the girl he cheats on his girlfriend with. It's not a romantic relationship, just friends with benefits but it's a complete 180 for him. He's able to be more open with me and vent to me about his girlfriend. He loves the secret aspect of it. Story credit: Reddit / cnwil

Peter and Jimmy

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I try my best to be professional; I get As in all my college classes, when I work part time I work in an office in a full suit, but I love to party. But when I say party I mean get crazy drunk, hit on all the girls in the building until I score, steal things from the property, break windows, pee on cop cars, etc.

The only way I keep my work and play separate is by giving everybody at the party a fake name, usually Tony or Peter, etc. This way nobody can ever look me up on the Facebooks, and if anybody ever came up to me and said "Yo, Jimmy, what's up?" (my name is not Jimmy) I would know they must have met me when I was incredibly drunk and I should try not to reveal too much about myself.

It's lame, but it's as close as I've come to living two lives. If you ever met Peter you'd never believe he works so hard. Story credit: Reddit / MrPoptartMan

The Migrant

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I am currently on an assignment for about a year in a foreign country for my company. After that, I will go back to my country and work there again. I have a girlfriend from a different country (even different continent), who will move to my country for me soon after I am back in my home country.

Currently, I am having 2 girlfriends in this country that I am staying in for a limited time. In addition to that I am kind of dating 2-3 more and having affairs left and right. Most of them think that I will stay here forever, especially the girlfriends and girls that I am dating.

They probably all hope I am going to marry them one day. Alas, my time is limited here and I am more than careful when it comes to the deed, so I am quite confident that no "accident" will happen.

Only thing that I will leave behind is broken hearts, although I will let all of them know that my going back is work related, has nothing to do with them and I don't want a long distance relationship. Story credit: Reddit / Doublethrow77

Military Wife

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I got tired of living at my moms house at 18, so I moved out July 28th, 2013. I moved 3000 miles away to live with my boyfriend of just 7 months.

He is military, and the only way I could live with him was to get married for benefits. We got married August 3rd, 2013. My family knows I live here, but his family thinks I still live at my moms house. That means I have to be quiet when he is on the phone so they don't hear me.

Also, No one knows were married. Only his single best friend knows, and his coworkers who don't actually care, as well. We hit 1 year of marriage a few weeks ago, and we couldn't be happier.

Its fun. We went on a cruise with his dads side of the family this past April, so we made it out to seem like we met in Atlanta (Me coming from PA and him coming from WA) and we'd fly together to Ft. Lauderdale.

Also, his mom got married last November, so we flew in to see her get married, but made it look like I took a train to Philly to meet him at the airport lol

My Instagram and twitter are private so I can post pictures of our dog and life together, and my Facebook doesnt have any specific location or recent photos of us up. We have to keep our elope a secret. My mom is a crazy christian lady who cries alot over stuff like this. His mom hates my gutts. Its interesting, really.. Story credit: Reddit / [deleted]

Fugitive for Forty Years

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A counselor at my college in Michigan faked his identity for over 40 years. He was a civil rights organizer in San Francisco in the 1960s and ended up in a shoot out with police.

None of the police were injured but he was shot in the foot apparently. He was supposed to appear in court later but he took off, and in the 40+ years following the shooting, he earned his masters degree with a whole new identity, ultimately working as a guidance counselor at a community college in Michigan.

His true identity was exposed around 2010 and he went on trial for the shooting in California. He was sentenced to a year in jail and about $8000 in fines. He was a nice guy, you’d never expect anybody who’s seemingly normal actually being an old school fugitive on the run. Story credit: Reddit / TazzzTM

A Happy Ending

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There was this kid at our church who started attending the youth group when he was about 15. Everyone loved him, but he was always a little standoffish. Fast forward 3 years to graduation time.

Everyone kept asking him what he planned to do after high school and if he was looking forward to it, but he always changed the subject. Finally, he revealed to one of the adults that he wasn’t graduating because he hasn’t been to school since he was 8 years old.

His dad removed him from school and never let him return. A whole bunch of stuff went down after that, but the church members helped him do a fast-track hs degree in 3 years and have now paid for him to attend a 4 year university. Story credit: Reddit / alnumero

Lives Within Lives

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My sister-in-law had a second child. She was still married, but separated with her husband (because she caught him cheating). The man with whom she had the baby was her father's old prodigy, who was also married with a couple of kids. This all took place in China, while the one-child policy was in full effect.

So: to her parents, the separation and affair were secret, up until she had a baby. Once they were looped in, they helped her to maintain the lies, because 'face'. From her ex-husband's perspective, the child and the affair were secret; from the perspective of his family (with whom she remained in touch), the separation, affair, and baby were secret.

This was complicated by the fact that they shared custody of their first kid (in fact, they pretended they were still living together for years). So the older kid was warned not to mention his brother to his father, while spending plenty of time with both.

It was all a secret from most, but not all of their close family (i.e. cousins, aunts, and uncles). And then there was the prodigy's family, and really the rest of the outside world, for whom there was no separation, no affair, and certainly no kid. That included the government. I'm not even sure how that worked. She wasn't living another life. She was living fractals of lives within lives.

Just try to imagine the logistics of getting your nonexistent kid to school (under a false identity?) in time to pick up your older kid, who was waiting with your secret lover, so that he could get back to his real family, and you and your kid could meet up with your cheating ex-husband, so that you could all drive together to lunch with family from both sides, doing your best impression of a perfect platonic family who had come straight from a shared, loving home (while being careful that neither you nor your older boy mention to anyone that you have to pick up your other son from school soon).

Now I've got a headache. Story credit: Reddit / yiliu

"New Mommy"

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My uncle runs a business hooking up internet in hotels. He travels all over the West coast for it. Recently he asked my aunt to have an open relationship. Turns out most of his "business trips" were actually trips to go meet with his business partner, whom he has been having an affair with for the last year or two.

This business partner has even had two pregnancies with my uncle. Both were miscarriages, but both were also INTENTIONAL. My aunt and uncle have been married for 12 years, and have a five year old son. My aunt also has terminal cancer.

He's been introducing their son to his mistress as their son's new Mommy without my aunt's knowledge. Needles to say, that open relationship isn't happening. They're getting divorced. Story credit: Reddit / StumbleKitty

The Long, Long Con

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So when I first left home in my late teens I shared a big house (I think 6+ bedrooms) with a close friend, his brother and some other randoms. Think frat house except no college/university. Splitting the expenses worked out pretty well.

So one of the guys worked at a port in customs or something. He had a uniform and ID etc. Left for work at the same time every morning and hung out with us after work. He was always down for attending social events with us and most of us liked him.

Fast forward about a year and he starts telling us about how he can get us discounted TVs and other merchandise from the port. Unclaimed/seized property that apparently no one sweats about if just a few items go astray. Everyone gave it a pass as it seemed sketchy.

Then one day we come home to one of our housemates in shock and bawling like a baby. Turns out not only did he give the guy his life savings he also gave him money borrowed from his dad. The customs guy had said he could get him a new car cheap! The long long con.

Turns out the guy doesn't work at the port, the name he gave us doesn't exist and we have no idea how he spent his days or came up with his share of the rent/bills. Still creeps me out a little knowing I lived with a stranger for so long. Story credit: Reddit / Rick2wise

Mother Russia

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My family hosted a number of exchange students while we were growing up. We hosted about 7 high school students over the course of my childhood; each stayed for a year in our house, attended high school in our town etc.

One girl, Irinia, from Russia came to us no differently than any of the other students had - through the AFS program. To be an student through AFS meant you had to fill out an application, be 17-18 yrs old, be attending high school in your home country, whatever.

So Irina arrives as our exchange student. She goes to high school in our small home town on cape cod Massachusetts. But at Christmas time she says she has to go home to Russia because her mother was extremely sick. Going home during the exchange year is really unusual, really rare.

So Ok fine she’s going to Russia for the Christmas break, nbd, she’ll be back in January. Except she never comes back. AFS can’t find her, we don’t know where she is, if she made it to Russia, if she’s hurt, nothing.

And we’re terrified because we’re her host family during this year and we always took the students in like family. Anyways she’s gone. Maybe 3 months later my mom is driving through our tiny town (again, middle of nowhere cape cod) and she see Irinia, with what looks like her mom, and some other kids.

Turns out Irinia has graduated high school in Russia already, was like 25 with children and had posed as an exchange student so she could ‘case’ the place before bringing the rest of her family. Story credit: Reddit / gulabjamunyum

Zero Effort Hero

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My (the Netherlands) great grandfather's family had an inkling that no amount of prosperity was worth risking what the 1940's was spreading. He took his wife and 4 sons on a boat, settled in Illinois/Wisconsin border to just fine middle classism as skilled carpenters and other building tradesmen.

The family didn't realize till nearly 1970 that the house they just left without selling in Holland, the Jewish family of husband, wife, and 4 boys who lived next door moved in without asking.

They called themselves my family name (firsts and last), the local Protestant church had them every Sunday, they survived the Holocaust. Has any greater accidental zero effort hero ever happened? Story credit: Reddit / DariusMDeV

The Posthumous Reveal

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I worked with this guy once who was known for his stories. No matter how loose the connection was, he'd find a way to turn anything into a personal anecdote of a thing he'd seen or done before.

All of them were interesting the first time (he'd lived an interesting life - grown up in America, moved to Australia in his early 20s, worked in a lot of really cool places over the years), but it wasn't long before he started repeating the same stories over and over again.

I worked with him for just over three years, so it got pretty ridiculous. We knew how he'd met his wife, all the obscure things he owned, his pets, his kids - we knew every detail of his life. It became a bit of an in-joke within the office about how the guy never shut up.

Then one day, he didn't come in. He'd died of a heart attack. The whole office was at a loss, especially our little department (which had about 8 people in it, including him). When it came to his funeral, our little group took the afternoon off and attended. And that's how we found out, none of his stories were true.

He'd grown up locally, his family wasn't at all who we thought they were, none of his old jobs had happened... Everything we'd known about him had just been made up.

The most interesting thing for me was that at one point, our boss needed someone to head to China to double check something in person at one of our company's factories. When the usual choices couldn't do it, he was picked.

It seemed like a no brainier, since he was regularly going to and from America to visit family and had travelled a lot on his other jobs. We now think that may have been his first time overseas. Story credit: Reddit / chiiild

Hidden Royalty

Pixabay

In one of my previous jobs a few years ago, we hired this guy who turned out to be a really good partner, worked hard, never complained. After about a year and a half of working with him I get called into the office, he's there with the manager, assistant manager and two beefy guys in normal clothes with the exception of ear pieces.

He wanted to say goodbye to the bosses and I and explain why he had to leave the company. Turned out he was the son of some leader in his country and they had to relocate him, an opposing faction found out he was in our state and would have kidnapped him for leverage. Story credit: Reddit / CrazyInvention

Hip-Hop Home Alone

Pixabay

I love to sing and rap- I believe I can keep a tune and rapping i'm pretty good at. People have heard me rap as a "joke" and they tell me im really good but I've always wanted to go public and post a singing/rapping cover.

I've never really sang in front of people before but when I do sing I feel 100% less stressed out and way happier. When I am home alone, I spend 80% of my time singing to instrumental versions of my favourite songs.

I even upload covers to a private video account and usually get good responses, but I know that I could still use some practice. When my parents found out about the rapping, they were actually really proud. I still have never said anything about singing but I wish I would. Story credit: Reddit / Loem4