A 30-year-old’s confession about shocking DNA test results has birthed a debate on Reddit about the importance of genetics in parenting.
“I was devastated, but I decided that I was not going to say anything to anyone,” the man shared about secretly learning he is not his son’s biological father. “Realistically, it doesn’t change much.”
He revealed the life-altering news in a Thursday Reddit post, admitting that he had suspicions he wasn’t the father of the 2-year-old.
“My son looks nothing like me,” he noted. “I have brown hair and green eyes. He has blonde hair and blue eyes.”
The dad, who did not disclose his name, reasoned those genetic features are on both sides of the couple’s family.
But not 100% convinced, he decided to dig for answers and confirm his doubts.
“I got a paternity test without telling anybody, not even my girlfriend,” he shared. “It came back that I am not my son’s biological dad.”
The heartbroken dad started to put the pieces together, realizing there were a few red flags at the beginning of the couple’s three-year relationship.
“She told me that she was pregnant very early on in our relationship which I thought was odd,” he explained. “But she insisted that it was mine.”
His girlfriend, 27, reportedly acknowledged that she was “casually seeing people” before things got serious with the Redditor.
“She may not even know who the biological father is, so I feel like bringing it up would just cause problems,” he shrugged.
Even though he’s unsure if his girlfriend “deliberately tricked” him or “genuinely thinks he’s mine,” the man said he plans to continue to parent the child.
“I make enough money to comfortably support us, so I’m not worried about child support or anything like that,” he said.
“I am still his father,” he declared. “I’ve been there since before he was born up until now.”
The controversial situation divided Reddit.
“You’re a legend for not letting it affect your relationship with them,” praised one person. “Paternity fraud is no joke.”
“Honestly OP you really should tell your GF the truth not because you are leaving her or don’t want the kid, but if nothing else for potential health/genetic issues, as well as the fact that most likely the kid will find out in the future and the sooner you get ahead of it the better,” recommended another.
“You don’t have to be the biological father to be someones dad. Who cares if he shares genetics with someone else, raising a kid to be a decent person is the important thing,” stated a third.
After reading Reddit’s advice, the dad shared in an update that he would eventually tell the boy.
“I do plan on telling my son once he gets old enough for the sake of possible health issues and such, and it can be up to him if he wants to try and seek out the bio dad,” he wrote.
