Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
29submissions
Finished
People Share The 29 Worst Things They Accidentally Overheard And Can’t Forget
Article created by: Indrė Lukošiūtė
How people behave when they think no one can hear or see them is often the best window any of us might have into their real personalities. Most of us tend to code switch or at least only share the extent of our real thoughts with people who are close to us.
Someone asked people to share the most disturbing thing they’ve overheard someone say when they didn’t know they were being listened to and the internet delivered. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your own experiences to the comments below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
It was when I was a kid and it was just my single mom and I living in a house together. She had late stage ovarian cancer that was getting worse. One afternoon she told me she was tired and needed to go lay down in her room. Totally common with her condition so nothing struck me as odd. I went to her room with a glass of water to put by her bed for when she woke up, but right as about to turn the knob to get into her room, I was thrown off guard when I heard her voice and it sounded like she was incredibly emotional and sad. There was no phone in her room and I knew nobody was over at our house visiting. It took me a minute of eavesdropping to realize that she was using a tape recorder to record her last goodbyes to me for after she died.
She died two weeks later. I found the tape. This was years ago and I still haven't been able to get myself to listen to it. The memory of being there while she was recording it, and the memory of my naive adolescent self finally realizing that my mom was about to die is just too overwhelming for me still. But I'm glad to know that one day when I'm ready, I will have a recording of her voice to listen to.
RELATED:
#2
When I was 12 I overheard my stepdad saying to my mum how much better their life would be without me there and how awful I am and how he wishes I wasnt there. My mum just agreed. I wasnt even a bad kid :( did well in school, never got in trouble, I could be a stroppy teenager. He was an awful manipulative violent misogynist and I wish HE wasn’t here.
#3
I was 14 and I overheard my mother talking with a doctor about my younger sister's cancer treatment, I had no idea she had cancer, she had no idea she had cancer. As soon as she got off the phone I asked her what was going on, she burst into tears, I burst into tears.
My little sister was 8 at the time and had been ill for months, so I helped my parents talk to her, it was very upsetting. We shortly after took her to a clinic 500 miles away, spent a week there, no cancer, no leukemia, misdiagnosed, she had an abscess that caused her symptoms. Easily treated, but I'll never forget hearing the phone call.
#4
I work in a hospital. I overheard a doctor telling a 1 year olds parents their child just died. I will never forget the sounds that came out the mother.
#5
On a flight got once I listened for two hours to the old men behind me talk about their recent sexual exploits in Thailand. It was disgusting.
#6
"YOURE PREGNANT?! WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU TELL ME THIS NOW?!" Line at Chipotle.
Her> "it doesnt matter. Im having an abortion as we speak. Just took the pill. I would never have YOUR kids."
It was brutal. Completely brutal.
#7
I was home alone as a 12 year old and my dads friend called the house. I let it go to voicemail and he left a bizarre voicemail about my dad being the best friend he’d ever had. My dad came home 10 minutes later and I told him about the voicemail. Dad tried to call him and he didn’t pick up. It turned out he shot himself immediately after leaving the voicemail- which was a pretty big mental time bomb for me.
#8
Was in the emergency room for 5 hours with a semi ruptured appendix. I was out there so long; passing out and coming to... I thought I was going to die. Turns out there was a greyhound that ran over a mini van with a family inside. Everyone but the driver made it out ok. When they finally took me back I heard a doctor say to a woman “ma’am, I’m sorry. We did everything we could, but your husband didn’t make it”. That wasn’t the part that was bad. It was what happened next.... the woman made a sound that struck me to the core. I’ll never forget it. It’s been almost 20 years ago and it still makes me tear up thinking about it. The sound illicited so many emotions of anger and disbelief and sadness. There’s just something about that sound coming from another human. The wailing, half-sobbing, muttering scream that it was...
Definitely the worst thing I have ever overheard.
#9
" We dont need to care about him since he's adopted."
I was maybe 10 Vacationing with some family friends at a local summer resort. The family was trying forever to have a baby and after 10 something years decided to adopt a toddler. A year later the woman got pregnant (ended up having 2 more bio kids) and still loved her adopted still the same. The husband however became indifferent to their adopted and spoiled the bio baby rotten and took pleasure in making sure the adopted knows this. He made a lot of jokes of returning the kid since he is not blood related anyways and other comments that were hurtful and out of line.
Soon cousins of the kid started to taunt this poor 4 year old who is confused of why he was being teased (mind you this happened in a 1 day span too). Mom tried to sheild him as much as she can and the husband made a serious faux pas of making that comment in front of 10 other people from church too. he tried to back pedal fast but not before my scary mother - the leader of the friend group ripped him a new one.
He never joined us anymore in gatherings and eventually the whole family moved to another town months later.
#10
Standing in line waiting for my Tim Hortons coffee. The girl in front of me was talking with her friend:
"yeah ...so I caught HIV from this dude. Its okay though, it's not like I'm going to die right away"
........I want some of her positivity.
#11
Not the worst, but definitely a head shaking moment. I was at the D.C. Zoo with me little girl visiting the gorilla exhibit, when a small boy 10-11 years old turns to his mother and asks, “Mom, it says that we’ve evolved from primates is this true”? Which point his mother scolds him and says “Don’t read that filth! All humans have descended from Christ, not primates! Start reading your bible and stop reading your science book”! I was genuinely stuck in awe for a few minutes as I felt a bit sorry for the small boy.
#12
My Mother and Father were arguing one night. My Mother had a bunch of pill bottles on the kitchen counter. My bother, sister and I woke up because they were so loud. We got out of bed, watched them arguing. Our Father said to our Mother right in front of us, "go ahead and k**l yourself, but I'm not taking care of these kids". Our Mother looked at us and walked past us and went to bed. Our Father then yelled at us to go back to bed. Our ages were 8, 6, and 4.
#13
I’d been on holiday for about a month, on the other side of the world to my family. I had FaceTimed my Mum and told her what I was up to, found out what was going on back home, just normal conversation. Eventually we said bye and Mum ended the call (or so she thought). She’d just paused it so the audio was still coming through. I heard my little sister ask her “Are you crying?” and Mum said “Not now.” I quickly hung up. I think she missed me and didn’t want me to know she was sad :(.
#14
When I was 7 we had two house phones in different parts of the house. I heard the phone ring one time and my parents were both holed up in my dads office and picked up the phone which I thought was weird - I picked up the other phone to satiate my curiosity only to hear some lady screaming at my mom about how bad my dad was in bed and she doesn’t care about him anyway, just wanted to get ahead at work. Was a lot to swallow at the time and an awkward afternoon.
#15
Not that much of an accident, but my mom caught my dad having an affair and I overheard her as she was yelling at the top of her lungs while my dad was sobbing begging her to take him back
Never looked at my dad the same way after that
Edit: Just for some more background, I was 16 when this happened, and I'm now 34. My parents are still together.
#16
I overheard a girl that i basically fell in love with, talking with her friend like "You know, hes cute but i think we will just stay friends".
I overheard that literally seconds before i was going to invite her on a date.
#17
Waiting to skype call my long distance girl-friend and before the video comes on the audio peaks up, heard her roommate yell to her "You gonna dump that sorry little boy now?" Yeah she immediately turned off the feed and broke up with me over skype text instead. Nice.
#18
I was in my garage one night a few years back when I overheard my teenage neighbor on the phone trying to convince his girlfriend to get an abortion.
#19
Brought this up in another thread like a month ago. On my first day of college while waiting on line at the bookstore (I know, I know you should never buy books at the college lol) two girls were behind me on the line talking about a "cute guy in front of them on the line". I naturally took this to think it was me and it raised my ego quite a bit. Until one of them tapped me on the shoulder and asking me to get the attention of the guy just ahead of me on line.
#20
Two of my best friends in high-school had a conference call about me. I just happened to be with the third friend they called and overheard how they thought I was annoying and I’m only friends with this other person for popularity.
Stopped being friends with them shortly after this.
#22
I guess it wasn’t so much an accident as it was an inevitability, but as I was entering my dorm one day freshman year of college, a girl who was sitting in the courtyard shouted to her friend who was right behind me “THE DOCTOR SAYS NOTHING IS WRONG WITH ME, I JUST HAVE AN ABNORMAL NIP**E.”.
#23
When I heard my parents fighting about when my dad had to move out. The fight was loud and started getting violent before I broke it up. Also the day I learned my parents were getting divorced.
#24
Was bartending, on our busiest day, people were waiting everywhere even outside. Family is a little loud and rowdy. A kid about 8 can't be still, him and a guy seems to be about late twenties are wrestling and acting up. Kid is yelling no and and screaming. People are kind of used to them at this point. Suddenly they guy starts yelling I am gonna grab your p***s! And says it a few times. Kid is yelling no! The entire restaurant got dead silent and everyone was jaw dropped staring finally, after a bit too long, the Mother is like "WTF can't say that or act like that" and they all go outside.
#25
As my friend and I were waking through a parking lot, leaving a farmers market, we heard a toddler screaming and shouting, “I WANT A LOLLIPOP! I WANT A LOLLIPOP!” Over and over. The very stressed out looking mother snapped back at him with not only, “You’re never getting a lollipop...EVER.” But follows that up with, “You’re an embarrassment.” Not even you’re embarrassing me, just “You’re and embarrassment.” My friend and I held our lips really tight until we got to our car.
#26
Overheard two girls talking in my dorm building a couple years back.
"Did you get that guys number?"
"Yeah I texted him but when he replied, his texts showed up green, I think he's poor. I don't think I'm gonna respond."
"I wouldn't either.".
#27
"No I wouldn't ever date that kid. He is ug-ly!" A crush of mine in middle school describing why she wouldn't wouldn't ever go out with me while she didn't know I was walking a few people behind her in the hall. It got a good laugh from everyone else but middle school me did not like that moment very much. lol Also, probably not the worst thing I have ever heard but its all I can remember right now.
#28
I was visiting my brother from out of state **(ETA: I'm female).** We went to the store, he dropped me off at his college apartment, and then he and my dad went to run a different errand. My brother's landline phone rang. I went to answer it, but it went straight to his answering machine (this was a while ago- 1999). The message was a male voice saying, "Hey, I saw you just a little while ago with a kind of ugly girl...."
**ETA = Edited To Add. Your frustration at trying to figure out how this made sense in the above sentence is me, a 40+ person, trying to understand some of the pop culture references you gosh-darned kids throw around.**.
#29
I overheard my long term boyfriend’s Mom talking negatively about me multiple times when she didn’t think I was around. We have been dating a long time and I try to be as thoughtful as possible. It is what it is I guess. I can’t make her like me or change the way she is.
You May Like 91 Times People Witnessed Something So Off, It Felt Like We Were Living In A Simulation 100 Being Alone Quotes To Remind You That Solitude Doesn’t Equal Lonely 115 Unique Baby Names With Weird Meanings
Justinas Keturka
Linas Simonaitis
Larysa Perih
Related on Bored Panda
