I’d been married to my husband for 10 years when I accidentally found out his real name was different. It happened during a family visit when his estranged brother let it slip. Later that evening, I asked my husband about it.
He looked nervous, but then he got up and brought me an old folder. It was filled with his documents from many years ago. Turns out he had always hated his first name and started going by his middle name in high school. That’s when he decided to legally change it. When we met, he was already used to introducing himself that way and didn’t think it was a big deal.
