An influencer has admitted to pretending to be her dead twin sister for years out of fear that the heartbreaking news would kill her grandparents.
Annie Niu, 34, a lifestyle and food social media personality, had been playing the part of her dead twin on the phone with her grandparents every holiday.
Her sister had passed away five years ago from viral meningitis, with the secret kept from her elderly grandparents until her grandmother was ‘on her deathbed’.
In a viral TikTok video posted on Friday, Niu tearfully revealed to her followers that she finally told some of her in-the-dark family members the truth surrounding the tragic death of her sister.
‘POV: You finally told your family that your twin sister passed away five years ago, and they took down every single family photo that had her in it (which is pretty much every photo in their home),’ the caption read.
The post, which has accumulated more than five million views since it was published, has thousands of comments from viewers expressing their views – and shock – over the secret.
In one of Niu’s previous videos, she explained that hiding the news from her extended family was her father’s idea.
Annie Niu, 34, a lifestyle and food influencer, took to TikTok on Friday to share that she finally came clean to some of her family about pretending to be her dead twin sister for five years – which was originally her own father’s idea
Her sister had tragically passed away from viral meningitis five years prior – prompting Niu to play the part of her twin out of fear that the news would kill her grandparents
‘I think it’s because he didn’t want to withhold this information but he also didn’t want to cause them anymore heartbreak,’ she explained to her followers. ‘And God forbid they are 92 and something happens.’
Some of her family seemed to handle the news rather badly after finding out, which Niu explained makes her ‘feel sad’ over the situation.
‘My aunts apparently made the decision to take down every single photo that contained my sister,’ she said while also noting how she counted 17 photos the previous time.
‘Imagine my surprise when I took my kids to go visit my grandpa and I look on the walls and none of our photos are there,’ she added.
The news was shared with her grandmother right before she passed away in July of this year, when Niu’s father told her that her granddaughter would be waiting for her in heaven.
But to this day, Niu’s grandfather has absolutely no idea.
While some viewers were empathetic towards Niu and her loss, others were simply confused.
‘The strangest thing ever is learning people don’t tell family/parents of a loved one’s passing,’ one viewer wrote. ‘I’ve NEVER heard of that in 27 years.’
In a previous TikTok video, Niu shared that she pretends to be her twin while on the phone with her grandparents every holiday
Niu and her father finally came clean to her grandmother while she was on her ‘deathbed’ this past July – but her grandfather still has absolutely no idea to this day
Another wrote: ‘I had to read this seven times, because what do you mean five years ago?’
‘How did they not know for 5 years!?!?!?!?!?’ another questioned.
But a shocking amount of comments claimed that they too have hidden similar secrets from their own family.
‘My baby sister passed away three years ago, and we haven’t told our grandma either. She is in her late 90s and she does ask for her often,’ a viewer divulged.
Another added: ‘My uncle passed six years ago, another uncle three years ago and my cousin four years ago.
‘We never told my grandma because of her health. She passed away last year and I joked saying she was going to haunt us. My family did the exact same,’ another wrote.