Woman pretends to be late twin for 5 years to protect grandfather from heartbreaking news

People go to extraordinary lengths to protect their loved ones from heartache. In a deeply personal and emotional story, Chinese-Canadian content creator Annie Niu (@annie_niu) shared how she pretended to be her deceased twin sister for five years to shield her grandparents from the devastating truth. Her decision, as she revealed in a viral TikTok video, stemmed from her father's suggestion to spare the family grief.

Niu, a lifestyle content creator, posted a clip on TikTok crying and wrote, "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 short clip confused her followers, who demanded that she share some context. 

She obliged and shared another video in which she explained in detail, "I didn't tell my grandparents and my extended family that my sister passed away," Niu began. "It was my dad's decision. This past July, my grandma passed away and on her deathbed, my dad told her that my sister passed away and that she was waiting for her on the other side. I think it's because he didn't want to withhold this information but he also didn't want to cause them any heartbreak. And, God forbid, they're 92, something happens."

Her grandfather, who is alive, still has no idea about the death of his twin sibling.

Furthermore, she said, "This is really common in Asian culture; we try to shield the elderly from terrible news." In addition, she revealed the cause of her twin's death: "My sister passed away from meningitis, which is a rare disease that occurs in 2% of people who catch any sort of bacterial or viral infection, and 30% of those affected die from it. Once you get it, the chance of dying is quite high."

Though the story was heartwarming, to say the least, people on TikTok had questions. For instance, @nikki asked, "Didn't they [the grandparents] ask where she was for five years? I'm so sorry and so confused." @kyliereneeslibrary argued, "This is so messed up, everyone deserves to know and she deserves to be remembered." @abgloverboy123 protested the decision, "Why would ur dad do that to ur grandma on her death bed." 

Other voices like @limpslamps assumed it could be a common family practice among Asians, "Is this cultural thing that family doesn't tell some older member if somebody dies?" @roxannapty recalled, "Isn't there a whole movie about this cultural thing I think it's 'The Farewell?'" @specialkimbab echoed, "Reminds of that movie 'The Farewell' with Awkwafina." 

Amidst all this, it must have been hard to lose a twin sister so early in life. The relationship between twins is special. While they often come out identical, their bond begins in their mother's womb. What affects one affects the other. Maybe that is why twin sister Poppy McBride began sending warning signals regarding her sister, prompting doctors to operate before the due date and save their lives.

According to Wales Online, at 21 weeks, Leah McBride, the mother, was informed that her twins had an imbalance of blood flow. Doctors advised her to save one baby over the other. But she wanted both, so she sought a second opinion, and at 31 weeks, Poppy's heart rate dipped, which prompted the medics to pull out both girls. Leah revealed that doctors told her it was Poppy who saved her sister's life.

You can follow Annie Niu (@annie_niu) on TikTok for lifestyle-related content.