Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Describe The 'Black Sheep' Of Their Family

black sheep looking through fence
Jose Francisco Morales on Unsplash

Every family has a black sheep or every family in its entirety are black sheep.

What is a "black sheep" anyway?

It used to mean a person who brought shame or embarrassment to a family, but it's more often used now to mean the member who is just very different from everyone else—sometimes in a good way.


Redditor Frozen_yoghurt123 asked:

"Who is the 'black sheep' of your family?"

I'm the black sheep or at least I'd like to think so.

Join me...

Scandal

"Probably my dad's cousin, who went to prison for murdering his lover's husband."

DW_555

Oh My Wow GIFGiphy

"biggest disappointment"

"My Dad. He is the only one of 6 siblings who wasn't a huge f**k up. And yet, before my Grandma died she stated that he was her 'biggest disappointment.' He is estranged from his surviving siblings... not by his choice. It honestly blows my mind."

Unfair_Biscotti2828

"Toxicity is often a group mindset thing; people don't want you to leave because they are dysfunctionally co-dependent on each other and need each other to justify their own shortcomings in life. A lot of the 'family loyalty' stuff is typically shouted loudest by those who are the least good idea to stay loyal towards."

Creative_Recover

The Dead

"My great uncle who stole my great grandfathers identity, stole a couple million dollars, and ran off. No one even knew he was alive until my great grandfathers funeral in 2009. No one has seen him since. My grandma started to cry because she honestly thought he was dead."

"Everyone else just kind of nodded on his direction and went on with the rest of the funeral. I just remember being very confused because I was 9 and I had never met this guy who my dad pulled me aside and told me he was my great uncle. It was a few years later that I got the full story."

valkyrieonaunicorn

"matriarch"

"According to my mean aunt, the 'matriarch' in her own mind, it's my twin brother because "he doesn't care about family now that he's a doctor." (He's a resident. Chief resident. He works ridiculous hours and spends the rest of the time recovering from work.)"

"According to my ex-MIL (who still counts because she's Son's grandma), it's me, for divorcing her son."

"According to everyone else, it's Mean Aunt. The rest of us are warm and caring and compassionate. We have our moments; all of us have been accidentally thoughtless or done something selfish once in a while, but we're not deliberately mean and snarky all the time."

insertcaffeine

Everybody

"My immediate family are the black sheep of the entire family."

DarthDregan

John Stamos Cheers GIF by GrandfatheredGiphy

Sounds like everyone has a little black sheep in them.

People Issues

"By now, my brother for cutting off everyone because he prefers his rude, selfish, paranoid, narcissist wife over all of us."

"My wife is the black sheep of her family in the sense that she's the only one who isn't a rude, selfish, paranoid narcissist."

Lvcivs2311

Joe Dirt Brother GIFGiphy

So Dumb

"Me. My granddaddy told me 'I’ve only had the sheriff knock on my door two times in my 80 years, and both times he was looking for you! 'I did some dumb sh*t, caused a little trouble, burned a few bridges but always managed to stay out of jail. Partly because my sister has kept an attorney on retainer for me since I was 16."

This_Personality3731

Liar Liar

"My younger brother (2nd of 4) is a compulsive liar and it got him in a lot of little trouble as a teen, then he told his wife he graduated a big college when we're not even sure if he got his GED because he failed to graduate HS, went to some GED school and eventually just stopped going."

"IF he graduated college, he never mentioned he was going in the 4+ years it takes nor mention graduation or have a diploma. He's not a bad dude, but now family time is super awkward when he and his wife are talking about 'their' college team."

UniqueUsername82D

The NOT good girl...

"My aunt's daughter. She’s been in jail for drugs, stolen money from my aunt and other family members to use on drugs and physically abused my aunt. My aunt has tried getting her help, but nothing has worked. She’s just not a good person, and everyone in my family, except my aunt, doesn’t want anything to do with her. I haven’t seen her in 8 years now, and I’m happy about that."

Hello_Im_the_world

Maria?

"A former nun - my great aunt - left the religious life and got married. She called herself 'the black sheep of the family' because her habit was black."

Back2Bach

Excited Julie Andrews GIF by The Rodgers & Hammerstein OrganizationGiphy

Well the black sheep sound like the most interesting family members.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Martha Stewart
Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Martha Stewart Shares Stern Text From 14-Year-Old Granddaughter Over Her Silence About ICE Killings

Martha Stewart is known as a quick-witted—sometimes sharp-tongued—lifestyle icon. But she's also a mother to Alexis Stewart and a grandmother to 14-year-old Jude Stewart and 13-year-old Truman Stewart.

It was this latter role that sparked her to speak out about recent atrocities enacted by the administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Keep ReadingShow less
Stephen Colbert Reveals Date Of His Final 'Late Show' Episode In Poignant Interview: 'It Feels Real Now'
Late Night with Seth Meyers / YouTube

Stephen Colbert Reveals Date Of His Final 'Late Show' Episode In Poignant Interview: 'It Feels Real Now'

Yesterday, Seth Meyers welcomed his Strike Force Five podcast buddy Stephen Colbert to Late Night, marking a rare and unexpectedly emotional reunion between the two late-night hosts.

Colbert hadn’t appeared on Meyers’ NBC show in more than 10 years, making the sit-down feel less like press and more like a warm check-in between old friends—just with cameras rolling and the FCC watching… allegedly, of course.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harry Styles
Christopher Polk/Variety/Getty Images

Fans Up In Arms After Harry Styles Concert Tickets Are Already Reselling For Bonkers Price

Fans have been essentially grieving for the past three years while Harry Styles took a much-needed break from touring, opting instead to enjoy other experiences—like accidentally seeing Pope Leo's conclave election.

The pop singer revealed last week that he's planning to tour after he releases his fourth album, “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally,” in March. Styles will travel to Amsterdam, London, São Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne and Sydney, and will also play 30 shows as part of a residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dean Cain
Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

MAGA Actor Dean Cain Slammed After Swooping In To Defend ICE Shooting Of Alex Pretti

MAGA actor Dean Cain, best known for his starring role as the titular superhero in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, was slammed after speaking to TMZ to defend ICE after agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend.

Calls for an investigation have intensified from across the political spectrum after analysis of multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti—a weapon that authorities said Pretti was permitted to carry but was not handling at the time—before fatally shooting him.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gus Kenworthy at "The Last 5 Years" Broadway Opening Night at Hudson Theatre.
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy Reveals His Surprising Celebrity Parallel To 'Heated Rivalry'

The characters of Heated Rivalry have inspired thirst-trap TikToks, memes, and award-show commentary—and now, an Olympian. Or, as Gus Kenworthy recently suggested, maybe the inspiration ran the other way.

In an interview with The New Yorker published Sunday, the British-American freestyle skier acknowledged the striking “parallels” he sees between the hit series and his own private life, particularly in the years before he publicly addressed his sexuality.

Keep ReadingShow less