History Main / NotActuallyHisChild

* {{Defied}} in ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'' regarding [[spoiler:Robert and Cersei's children, all of whom were born of {{Twincest}} between Cersei and her brother Jaime. [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade Jon Arryn was poisoned shortly after discovering the affair]] (by going through historical descriptions of past Baratheon-Lannister children, discovering that [[StringFamilyResemblance they normally had Baratheon looks, especially black hair instead of blond]]). Ned Stark discovers it later after replacing Arryn as Hand of the King, but Robert is mortally wounded by a boar and Ned can't bring himself to reveal the affair to his old friend on his deathbed.]]

* {{Defied}} in ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'' regarding [[spoiler:Robert and Cersei's children, all of whom were born of {{Twincest}} between Cersei and her brother Jaime. [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade Jon Arryn was poisoned shortly after discovering the affair]] (by going through historical descriptions of past Baratheon-Lannister children, discovering that [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe they normally had Baratheon looks, especially black hair instead of blond]]). Ned Stark discovers it later after replacing Arryn as Hand of the King, but Robert is mortally wounded by a boar and Ned can't bring himself to reveal the affair to his old friend on his deathbed.]]

* Inverted in the backstory of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. [[spoiler:[[PosthumousCharacter Quint Nakajima]]]] rescued two young combat cyborgs during a raid on an illegal research facility. Given the fact that they bore a resemblance to her (and they needed someone to take care of them) she decided to adopt them alongside her husband. It was only years later that she discovered that there was a very good reason they looked so much like her: the researchers had gotten a hold of her DNA and used it as the genetic base for their cyborg project, meaning that [[spoiler:Subaru and Ginga]] were biologically her daughters. Unlike most examples that would have this be the source of drama, [[GoodParents this did not affect her relationship with them in any way]].

* In ''Film/{{Titanic|1953}}'' (1953), Julia reveals to her husband Richard that her 10-year old son Norman was the result of a one-night stand. Her husband immediately becomes distant towards Norman and brushes him (and Julia) off the entire movie. [[spoiler:In the end Richard stops his aloofness and confesses his love for his son, just as they wait to die together on the sinking Titanic]].

* ''Film/RedRidingHood'': [[spoiler:Cesaire]] discovered [[spoiler:Lucie]] is not actually his child by blood. He killed her in a rage, but expresses remorse about it later.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Happens to Brambleclaw when Hollyleaf reveals, to every cat attending the Gathering, that he's not her father and Squirrelflight isn't her mother, but that she and her siblings are instead the children of Leafpool, Squirrelflight's sister and the Clan's medicine cat, and Crowfeather, a warrior from a different Clan who had a legitimate son of his own. Naturally, he took the news pretty hard, but eventually got over it when he decided that, as their foster father, he still loved and was proud of Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Jayfeather, and that their blood relation didn't matter.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' takes this trope and squeezes it nearly dry almost exactly before the end of the fourth chapter; your character, the Avatar, is revealed to not be the child of King Garon of Nohr, but rather that of King Sumeragi of Hoshido. [[spoiler: Actually, Sumeragi isn't your father either, but that's besides the point.]] During the rest of the game, you struggle with the fact that Garon's kingdom and family are at war with that of your home nation and REAL family.

* In the animated ''WebAnimation/CyanideAndHappiness'' sketch "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gia6xOBRjQE Step on a Crack]]" a married couple is watching their daughter play while singing the childhood rhyme "Step in a crack/And you break your momma's back." At that moment the daughter steps on a crack in the pavement, and sure enough the mother's back breaks. The daughter then goes onto to the line "Step one a line and you break your father's spine"... and the next door neighbor keels over while shouting about his spine.

A character's father raised their child believing that they were biologically theirs, however a sudden [[TheReveal reveal]] causes them to learn that they're not. This often doubles as a reveal of {{Cuckold}}, when the significant other wasn't aware of any straying. Another explanation is that the child was SwitchedAtBirth or a {{changeling|Tale}}.

* Inverted in the backstory of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. [[spoiler:[[PosthumousCharacter Quint Nakajima]]]] rescued two young combat cyborgs during a raid on an illegal research facility. Given the fact that they bore a resemblance to her (and they needed someone to take care of them) she decided to adopt them alongside her husband. It was only years later that she discovered that there was a very good reason they looked so much like her: the researches had gotten a hold of her DNA and used it as the genetic base for their cyborg project, meaning that [[spoiler:Subaru and Ginga]] were biologically her daughters. Unlike most examples that would have this be the source of drama, [[GoodParents this did not affect her relationship with them in any way]].

Compare to ChocolateBaby when it's obvious by the child's looks, MamasBabyPapasMaybe for when its ambiguous, and IAmNotYourFather for when the dad reveals this to the child. See also YourSonAllAlong, YouAreNotMyFather, and NotBloodSiblings. Not to be mistaken for NotHisBlood, which involves a character literally being splattered with blood that isn't their own. Compare and contrast LukeIAmYourFather and LukeYouAreMyFather, where a person previously thought unrelated is revealed to be another character's parent or child.

* A father of MassiveNumberedSiblings notices that his youngest child looks considerably different from the others and queries his wife on it. She informs him that their youngest has a different father. Naturally somewhat put out by this, he irately demands to know who the father is. [[InvertedTrope "You

* A father of MassiveNumberedSiblings notices that his youngest child looks considerably different from the others and queries his wife on it. She informs him that their youngest has a different father. Naturally somewhat put out by this, he irately demands to know who the father is. [[InvertedTrope "You."]]

* ''Fanfic/LastingFame'': Pizzazz had told [[spoiler:Eric]] for years that they had a son together. When he finally meets Pizzazz's kid face-to-face as adults, it's clear to Eric that the boy isn't his. He's obviously [[spoiler:Rio's]] son.

* ''Series/TheMauryShow'' has carved its niche in television history by conducting genome testing on troubled couples. Roughly half the time, the alleged father hears Maury declare, "You are ''not'' the father," which leads to the "slut run" backstage to the "crash couch." Although nowadays, these "parents" are hired actors, early seasons were conducted with raw recruits willing to air their dirty laundry on stage in exchange for two nights' stay with meals at a nice hotel.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Happens to Brambleclaw when Hollyleaf reveals, to every cat attending the gathering, that he's not her father and Squirrelflight isn't her mother, but that she and her siblings are instead the children of Leafpool, Squirrelflight's sister and the Clan's medicinecat, and Crowfeather, a warrior from a different Clan who had a legitimate son of his own. Naturally, he took the news pretty hard, but eventually got over it when he decided that, as their foster father, he still loved and was proud of Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Jayfeather, and that their blood relation didn't matter.

* ''Western Animation/YoungJustice'': Between seasons one and two, it is revealed that [[spoiler: Kaldur is the son of Black Manta, having spent most of his life believing his mother's husband - Calvin Durham - was his father. Kaldur's mother, stepfather, and Aquaman concealed the truth from him and everyone else in an attempt to protect him. The reveal of this and Tula's death led to his defection]] [[spoiler: ...except that was that was just used as justification for him to be a FakeDefector.]]

[[AC: Anime & Manga]]

[[AC: Comic Books]]
* Subverted in ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch''. [[spoiler:Ursa]] purposedly wrote fake AffairLetters saying that her son [[spoiler:Zuko]] wasn't her husband's son. [[spoiler:Ozai]] ''knew'' they were lies, but he [[AbusiveParents began abusing his son]] just to spite his wife.

[[AC: Film -- Live Action]]
* In ''Film/{{Titanic 1953}}'', Julia reveals to her husband Richard that her 10-year old son Norman was the result of a one-night stand. Her husband immediately becomes distant towards Norman and brushes him (and Julia) off the entire movie. [[spoiler:In the end Richard stops his aloofness and confesses his love for his son, just as they wait to die together on the sinking Titanic]].

[[AC: Jokes]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live-Action TV]]
* Rick Grimes of television's ''Series/{{The Walking Dead}}'' learns that his wife, Lori, has had an affair with his best friend and co-worker, Shane; Lori later gives birth to a daughter, Judith. Rick mentions to another character that Shane is Judith's father. (Paternity testing is likely a low priority in the zombie apocalypse, however.)

[[AC: Video Games]]

[[AC:Web Animation]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]

* ''Western Animation/Young Justice'': Between seasons one and two, it is revealed that [[spoiler: Kaldur is the son of Black Manta, having spent most of his life believing his mother's husband - Calvin Durham - was his father. Kaldur's mother, stepfather, and Aquaman concealed the truth from him and everyone else in an attempt to protect him. The reveal of this and Tula's death led to his defection]] [[spoiler: ...except that was that was just used as justification for him to be a FakeDefector.]]

* ''Western Animation/Young Justice'': Between seasons one and two, it is revealed that [[spoiler: Kaldur is the son of Black Manta, having spent most of his life believing his mother's husband - Calvin Durham - was his father. Kaldur's mother, stepfather, and Aquaman concealed the truth from him and everyone else in an attempt to protect him. The reveal of this and Tula's death led to his defection]] [[...except that was that was just used as justification for him to be a FakeDefector.]]

* ''Western Animation / Young Justice'': Between seasons one and two, it is revealed that Kaldur is the son of Black Manta, having spent most of his life believing his mother's husband - Calvin Durham - was his father. Kaldur's mother, stepfather, and Aquaman concealed the truth from him and everyone else in an attempt to protect him. The reveal of this and Tula's death [[spoiler: led to his defection]] [[...except that was that was just used as justification for him to be a FakeDefector.]]

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', where it's painfully obvious that Dale's son Joseph is actually the lovechild of his wife Nancy and her Native American healer John Redcorn, yet Dale never even suspects. The only other person not to realize this is Peggy, and when she does and tries to tell Dale, Hank advises against it, as Dale is not the most emotionally stable person. Dale eventually does figure out that Joseph is not his son, but thinks that it's because Nancy was inseminated by aliens, and never even suspects Redcorn (who at one point muses that he's taking the fun out of cheating with Nancy).

* In the animated ''WebAnimation/CyanideAndHappiness'' sketch "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gia6xOBRjQE Step on a Crack]]" a married couple is watching their daughter play while singing the childhood rhyme "Step in a crack/And you break your momma's back." At that moment the daughter steps on a crack in the pavement, and sure enough the mother's back breaks. The daughter then goes onto to the line "Step one a line and you break your father's spine"... and the next door neighbor keels over while shouting about his spine. The husband from the couple looks like he's going to be furious... then he just cheers and drives off.

Compare to ChocolateBaby when it's obvious by the child's looks, MamasBabyPapasMaybe for when its ambiguous, and IAmNotYourFather for when the dad reveals this to the child. See also YourSonAllAlong, YouAreNotMyFather, and NotBloodSiblings. Not to be mistaken for NotHisBlood, which involves a character literally being splattered with blood that isn't their own.

''' NO REAL LIFE EXAMPLES '''

* {{Defied}} in ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'' regarding [[spoiler:Robert and Cersei's children, all of whom were born of {{Twincest}} between Cersei and her brother Jaime. [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade Jon Arryn was poisoned shortly after discovering the affair]] (by going through historical descriptions of past Baratheon-Lannister children, discovering that [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe they normally had Baratheon looks, especially black hair insted of blond]]). Ned Stark discovers it later after replacing Arryn as Hand of the King, but Robert is mortally wounded by a boar and Ned can't bring himself to reveal the affair to his old friend on his deathbed.]]

* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'' has an event chain where a character suspects that their wife was impregnated by another man and can hire spies to try and find the truth. If in fact this turns out to be the case, the child will be born a bastard and disinherited. It's also possible to use the Intrigue focus to start rumors that a character is secretly a bastard.