The 52-year-old man married for the second time after losing his first wife ten years back. His daughters happily accepted his new wife and treated her like their elder sister. On the other hand, his wife also had two boys from her first marriage. The man got along well with the boys and treated them like his. However, things took a different turn when he saw the footage from the hidden camera.

Other Redditors were shocked after reading whataboutthekids‘ detailed post in the “Relationship Advice” subreddit, which he penned on May 5, 2019. Before jumping to the main story, the man shared a little background for the readers. He recalled bumping into his 38-year-old second wife at various spots in town. They never talked to each other but did make eye contact several times.

One day, the man brought his car to the service center and was sitting in the waiting room when he saw her walking in. That day, they talked to each other in detail and even went for coffee. He asked her if she would like to go out for lunch sometime, and she agreed, so they exchanged numbers. After dating for two years, he decided to marry her.

Three days later, a notification popped up on his phone while at work.

She moved into his house with her sons, and the man’s daughters also accepted their new stepmother, who was more like an elder sister to them. The original poster was also happy because an adult was now at home to supervise his daughters while he was at work.

OP’s wife wanted to stay home for some time but frequently volunteered at the school lunch. Her stepdaughters had graduated college while her sons were still in school. Since OP was close to his stepsons and his wife’s ex never paid child support or reached out to them, he decided to adopt them.

His wife had told him that her ex never contacted her after abandoning them. But one day, her ex surprisingly reappeared and demanded to meet his children. Since he was legally their father, OP couldn’t stop him from visiting the house. However, he did limit the visits to weekends only.

During that time, OP told his wife to ask her ex to give up his rights so he could adopt the boys. She agreed to talk to him about it. The following month, OP noticed things had started to change around the house. He saw unusual things like missing snacks and beer cans, but his wife brushed it off when he asked about it.

His 14-year-old stepson approached him a few days later and asked if he loved his mother. The little boy mentioned that watching them cuddle made him feel like they were in love.

Then, the boy asked the OP if his mother was still in love with his father. OP didn’t know why he would ask such an odd question, but he replied that his mother might still like him. The boy then revealed that he often saw his mother cuddling with his father. He shared that he used to find him at home when he returned from school.

That weekend, OP talked to his wife’s ex when he visited his children. The ex confessed that he only came to spend time with his wife. “He says [they are] technically not divorced [because] he never signed [the] papers, so she is his wife,” recalled OP.

Shocked, OP asked him if his wife had mentioned anything about child support. He revealed that he had paid her $15,000, and she never asked him to give up his rights. This made OP curious.