The Edge Breakfast - TRUTH BOOTH: Secret son from affair...

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

This is a podcast from Rover. If you've got a secret you've been sitting on that no one knows about and you've decided it is time to get it off your chest, you want to live life on the edge, then join us in the Truth Booth. Much like Alex, fake name has, whose voice I can confirm is disguised. Alex, good morning. Hey, good morning, how are you? Good, Alex.

Now bring it. Give us the top line of what you're wanting to truth bomb us with today. Right, so I went on a short work trip overseas to Europe roughly six years ago and something happened during that time there that has radically changed my life and I haven't told anyone quite literally anyone I'd even a friend so um wow why what do you think their reaction would be like why is it that you've kept it a secret um the gravity of it I can't really comprehend what they would say and I don't want to I really don't want to deal with that not even with friends I don't want to it's difficult to kind of rub my head around even now talking about it. So it would ruin

relationships friends and family Absolutely, I mean at first like anything Wounds can heal and mend but without a doubt. I'm worried not to mention the fact that you know, I am I'm not children. I'm married so to so fact that, you know, I am... I have children, I'm married, so on and so forth, so... You've got a wife and you have children. Correct. Have you ever come close to letting the secret out over six years?

It's funny you say that because I've asked similar hypotheticals to gauge responses, and I didn't get anything positive out of it. Oh, like hey, like a hypothetical, would you rather? And just see what people do and say. And what's, if you don't mind me asking, what's made you, what's compelled you to tell us? Honestly, I listened to you guys going to work and this whole segment I was like, you know what, maybe I can let out the truth while being

relatively anonymous and getting some genuine feedback. Okay. I have no idea what you're about to say. I'm genuinely intrigued. I'm a bit scared, to be honest, because you've got a wife and kids and you've literally never told anyone, but I'm happy that you're about to get it off your chest

and feel some relief, I guess. Yeah, I mean, imagine for six years you've been keeping it quiet and in the next few seconds you're about to tell someone. Okay, we're going to be honest with you of our thoughts, I guess, but Alex, what is your truth bomb? So, for context, I have been married for over 10 years with children with my wife. Roughly six years ago, I went on a work trip overseas for six months and I ended up having an extramarital affair and found out roughly five years ago that we ended up having a kid together. So I've had a child with another woman that no one knows about,

not to mention the fact that it's financially draining me and it's a lot of things are kind of spiraling. I almost feel like this will come out at some point. It needs to, but yeah, it's a bit tricky. Wow. Oh my God. There's a lot to unpack there. It's definitely coming out at some point, it needs to. But yeah, it's a bit tricky. Wow. Oh my gosh. There's a lot to unpack there. It's definitely coming out at some point.

So yeah, we've got so many questions. Don't get scared and do a run Alex. We'll play a quick song. We'll come back. If you've got a question for Alex, by all means fire it through 3343. That's a big one. All right, back with the full story

just after Alex's truth bomb next. The text line is gonna break in a second. I've never seen this many texts come through. It's unbelievable. It's crazy, eh? Oh my god, people are getting racked up. If you don't know what is going on, let us get you back up to speed and jump back into it. If you've got a secret you've been sitting on that no one knows about, and you've decided it's finally time to get it off your chest, much like Alex just has, you can join us in the Truth Booth.

Ash, do you want to do the honours? Yeah, so Alex went on a work trip six years ago and on that trip he ended up having an extramarital affair, came home, a little while later found out that the woman he'd slept with was pregnant. He now has a child that his wife and family know nothing about. How long ago did you find out about the child? About five years ago. And you're doing like some sort of child support I'm guessing you were saying it's crippling you financially? I wouldn't say crippling me financially, but it's definitely affecting me financially. And my wife has pointed that out and I've just said I'm investing more into my investments,

which I guess technically is true because his future is my investment. Alex, have you met your child? That's another thing. I've never even met my child except for on video things of that nature. At first I didn't believe it but then my child has a birthmark that is virtually identical to mine and my mother's which kind of passes down through genetics I guess so. I mean putting a positive spin on it, a lot of people would have just denied the whole relationship and probably not.

Ghosted them. So the fact that you're helping out financially makes you I guess partly a good person. Yeah is there a plan to go over there is there a plan for them to come to you do you see your worlds colliding at any point? 100% honestly sooner rather than later my heart is beating a mile a minute right now because I don't even know how to approach the situation to be quite honest. That's the thing.

But I would absolutely love to meet my son and I would like my son to be a part of my life and my children's life so on and so forth, but I am married. And it's gonna cause a rift that is, and like I said, I've asked hypotheticals to this effect. And it's always been pretty poorly received. Yeah, look, I think, I don't know you from a bar of soap

and you don't know me, but I'm just gonna speak as a wife and a mother, you need to tell your partner. You can't, this will eat you alive and we have one life. And every day that you go on keeping this secret is a day less that you have a relationship with your child, they don't know their parent. And this is the kind of thing that, you know, like the longer you leave it, I feel like the worse it is. Like we hear stories about like my dad died and after he died, we found out he had a secret

family and I never got to talk about it with him. Like human beings are complex, but we're also forgiving. And I think truth and light is always better than darkness. Like does the thought of you coming clean on this fill you with dread or relief or a mixture of both? It's a mixture of both because I mean, for one, I can't even articulate what my thoughts are but I ultimately feel it would be beneficial for all parties maybe not right now we're six months or five years down the line but at some point it is and I've got to rip the bandaid off it's just you know it's quite challenging.

You know your wife better than anybody else Alex yeah what do you think her reaction is going to be? Heartbreak 100%. A part of me also believes that I mean I'm a good I mean all things aside I would call myself a good father and a good husband, despite the obvious. And a part of me feels we could actually work through it. The only issue at hand is the woman, my son's mother overseas, which I want nothing to do with, I suppose.

And so I feel like that in and of itself would just cause, you know, I don't know. You sound like a person that's got their head screwed on. Obviously you've made mistakes, but I can hear through the phone, even with the voice disguiser, that this is eating you alive, Alex. I mean, my child is a bussing nonetheless.

So I've been feeling quite bad, for lack of better words. Okay, well we've got so many people texting through with their opinions and what they think you should do, Alex. Keep those texts coming through and we'll try and- And be honest guys, another way to tell you, because they're- They're being honest. Oh yes.

And we'll try and work out how Alex is going to fix the situation. He can't fix it. Do you reckon, you think it's not fixable? It's not a fix. That's not a fix. There's coming clean, but there's no fixing.

In the middle of a truth booth with Alex, fake name on the voice disguise at the moment, rightly so. Mm-hmm. A lot of people weighing in on his secret family or his son that he has had for the last five years living in another country that his current wife and kids know nothing about and he has been paying child support for.

A lot of people screaming he needs a DNA test and that the birthmark that they both share isn't really enough. What do you think? I just read this text and I think for me sums it up perfectly. All the adults can get on with it and do what's best for all those children.

At the end of the day, be what matters right. It of the day, you have to do right by your children. That's what I think. I personally think he just like, take everybody out of the equation. He needs to kind of just do it for himself. Let's take a couple of quick calls and then we'll go back to Alexia. He's feeling, Adrian, morning. Oh, thank you, my screen's not working. I can't bring them on. Morning Adrian. Hi. Good morning, I can't bring them on. Morning Adrian.

Hi, good morning, I'm in the car. Can you hear me okay? Yeah, we can hear you beautifully. What would you like, how do you want to weigh in on this story? What do you want to share? Well I think you really need to have a DNA test, because I had a friend once and well he was paying child support for his son and you know he had a really close relationship with his son and he was you know taking him every weekend and everything and then when he got a new girlfriend who was my one of my best friends she insisted that he get a DNA test and it wasn't his son. God that's devastating. Yeah. That is so cruel. Then you get people saying I feel for Alex. He's prepared to have to pack his bags, sorry they're coming in thick and fast, and be told

to leave. His wife might understand he had an affair but then I think lying and keeping the secret for five years is the deal breaker for me, not the affair. Yeah I think he had an affair, but then I think lying and keeping the secret for five years is the deal breaker for me, not the affair. Yeah, I think he does sound remorseful and it's not doing, you know, it doesn't delete what he's done. No. But it sounds like it's eating him alive. Absolutely, that's not healthy. Not everyone is Team Alex though, unfortunately bro. How are you feeling about all this? I've been feeling quite bad and for lack of better words because I'm keeping something that I would cherish my secret to everybody. And it's just, it's really not fair.

Oh, I want to cry. It's not good honestly, it's not good for me. Yeah. Because at the end of the day it's a little bit difficult. It's a baba who wants to know their dad and that's heartbreaking, like... Yeah. No, it's... And do you know what else is heartbreaking as well, Alex?

I'm trying to put myself in your shoes and I would... I like you. Being the dad is my world, it's... And do you know what else is heartbreaking as well, Alex? I'm trying to put myself in your shoes and I would, I like you, being the dad is my world, it's everything. So I want to have a relationship with my son. I would fear that my wife, every time she saw my son, it would remind her of the man that did that to her. And I would worry that my marriage would never survive it. So it feels like you've got a choice between your marriage or your relationship with your son.

And I would worry and probably why you haven't told her is you don't feel like you can have both. I mean, to be honest with you, I would be more focused on my children than my wife. And I'm being genuine because we're both grown adults. We're in our forties. I feel like she can rationalize things much better in a mature sense than a child can.

And even if in a perfect scenario where we could all meet and somehow to that effect, yes, you're right. She would look at my son and, you know, for all I know she could be disgusted. look at my son and, and you know, for all I know, she could be disgusted. That's a bit extreme, but you know, you'll definitely, yeah, some type of residual feelings of, you know, even if it all appears fine,

it could all be a facade, you know, I feel like the trust is quite literally irreversible. It's literally juggling my current family and my wife with my child that I want to be in my life. If you don't mind me asking, Alex, what is your relationship, your current relationship now with your wife? How is it, how is that at the moment? Is it a happy relationship still? Oh, yeah, absolutely. Obviously, I made a mistake. It was a silly night, for lack of better words, you know, and it's

unfortunately just transpired. But yes, It was a silly night, for lack of better words, you know, and it's unfortunately just transpired. But yes, I live a relatively comfortable life with my wife. We're well off. We're a happy family. And it's just unfortunate that like I have a blessing that I'm keeping a secret because I'm trying to maintain this lifestyle that I have with my wife, which is not just my wife and my family. So.

OK, so now after telling us, has this fast forwarded your plans at all to bring this information to your wife's attention? 100 percent. Is there a plan in place, do you think, like a timeline on it? I mean, yeah, I don't know. I can't say I do today. But I would imagine in the next few weeks without a doubt. Well, good luck. Good luck, mate. You made a mistake, but like you said, it's beautiful to hear the way you speak about your son, that you call him a blessing.

It's obvious you're a great dad, and the way I see it is, second you become a parent, your responsibility is as a parent before anything. That's what I think. So good luck Alex and thank you for your bravery and sharing the secret with us. And relationships have come back from start to finish. I appreciate you guys letting me, yeah. Good on you mate.

It was good honestly. Cheers. Okay, well we got so much feedback, we're actually gonna have to take a breather and like come back and we're actually just gonna wrap up and move on. We were gonna do something else but in my 10 years on radio I don't think I've ever had this much feedback from a live audience. I think part of me, sorry Dan, I think Alex is sharing because he wants people to weigh in.

I genuinely think he goes, what do I do? I have no idea, what would most people do and I'll do that. And this, like your feedback is so good as well. There's some really good advice coming through. Yes, yeah, we should keep going. It's mass advice. Isn't it amazing the sympathy from some and zero sympathy from others.

Some people are like, jail! Yes, yeah. Finish him. Finish the edge. We thought we would have moved on from this, but it turns out a lot of people have an opinion on it and surprisingly there are quite a few people as well who have been in very similar situations to Alex who you just tuned in has been married for 10 years

with kids but during his marriage this happened. I was in a relationship overseas for six months and I ended up having an extramural affair and found out roughly five years ago that we ended up having a kid together. I think Alex is listening currently as well. He's wanting to hear the feedback and as we said before, so much coming through Ash. Let's just go straight to the phones. Matt, let's go actually no, let's go to Brent.

Good morning Brent. Morning, how are you? Good Brent. What are your thoughts? Oh, just cheating someone. So, I'm like, he says he's from a happily married family with kids. And this new child's a blessing. I don't see how it's a blessing to destroy

what he's saying as a happily married family. It's just appalling. Yeah, I mean that is- I realise we're on radio, so I'll use just clean words. Thank you for keeping it, PJ. Are you a father yourself, Brent? Sounds like it. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, I have a father. I've got my kids, one's at uni and one's nearly finished high school. Yeah, and I think your views are shared by a lot of people that are listening, Brent. But I'm going to go to Karlane next, because Karlane, you are kind of on the other side of the coin. You feel a little bit of sympathy for Alex. I sort of do, yeah.

I mean, what he did is wrong, absolutely. But I can just I just I feel sorry for him and the fact that he must dread knowing surely his wife is going to turn around and say, mate, you need to pack your bags and we're done. Yeah, and that's always the fear, right? There's hope that she'll forgive you. Yeah, but as a woman, I don't know, and keeping that secret for so long. I think it's worse, isn't it, Carly? The secret is the worst part. Yeah, I think so long. I think that's worse isn't it Carlyne? The secret is the worst part. Yeah I think so too. And like I said earlier as well you might have missed Carly I was like I'm pretty sure I mean I don't know if this is the way all women would think but I think a vast majority of them would be like every time she sees him with his other son it's a reminder that he cheated.

Like every time she looks at this. Oh absolutely right. How do you get rid of that as a memory? We've talked about cheating before on the show quite a bit and relationships can come back from it. I think what then- Sometimes stronger in some instances. Yeah, but I think what murkies the water is the kid that's involved here as well. And that makes it much more tricky.

It's a constant reminder of the thing that you're trying to get over. Yeah. It's kinda what I'm getting at. And Matt as well, you've called through, maybe you can kind of sum it up for us. What's your advice to Alex? Hi mate, just simple advice for him, no judgment.

Stress can really affect you and it can affect his ability to function for his family. So by coming clean, you know, he can lose that stress because that stress is going to really affect his health and it shortens your life. That's so true. So coming clean can really affect his ability to provide for everybody involved. So, you know, no judgement. Just a quick quote from Shawshank Redemption, get busy living or get busy dying.

Yeah, brilliant. So let it out, come clean. We all make mistakes. Everybody's human. That is great. So let it out, come clean. We all make mistakes, everybody's human. And move forward. Just let it out. If you hold it in, it could destroy you. I want Matt to be my dad. Yeah, because you're right man, doing nothing does not fix the situation. Exactly right. Things like that really affect your health, it really does.

And imagine the freedom he's going to feel if he comes clean. Yes, things might fall apart. Physically, you look around, my wife, I've been kicked out of the house for whatever it is, but you're walking around without that weight hanging over you. At least you can live clean, free with light. The benefits of coming clean, far outweigh,

he's still keeping it a secret, by far. And Matt's made a good point, he could have a heart attack in two weeks from the stress and then none of his kids have got a dad. And then it gets you scared when advice from Marilyn comes through that says I'd rip his balls off. So I mean, there's two sides of the coin. And the other one we're not thinking about,

someone else is feeling very sorry for his baby mama who lives in the other country saying that I was in the same position but I was the mum, I got pregnant from an affair and was single at the time and then you know that your kid's dad has another family and he started before meeting you. No one wins. I think Alex if you're still listening you owe it to yourself you owe it to your family you owe it to the kids yeah to come clean yeah I think that's it absolutely okay do it in your own time but I think do it sooner rather than later.