At first sight it looks like an innocent family photo…
For many parents, photos of their children are very dear to them. British father Ben was no exception to the rule. One day, he photographed himself, his children and wife, but when he looked at the picture more closely, he made a bizarre discovery. It affected Ben so deeply, that he immediately filed for divorce.
High school sweethearts
Ben and his wife Ashley’s story started out very sweetly. The pair met each other in high school and it did not take long before they fell head over heels for each other. On particularly gooey days, the couple was called ‘Bashley’, a combination of the names Ben and Ashley. The two were very happy, so at that time, nobody expected that the couple would part ways someday.
Ben and Ashley were two teenagers in love and could not keep their hands off of each other. During their senior year in high school, they discovered that Ashley was pregnant. Right after their graduation, the couple became parents to a daughter they called Jill.
Raising a child
The little girl was lovingly admitted into the family, but the pregnancy had not been planned. They were still young, unmarried and they did not live together. They did not have money to buy a house, either. Luckily, little Jill was also lovingly accepted by her grandfather and grandmother. Ben, Ashley and their child could stay at Ashley’s parents’ place, and grandpa and grandma could keep an eye on their grandchild.
Ben and Ashley were grateful for the help of Ashley’s parents, but they wanted to move into their own place eventually. They started saving up and eventually the young family could rent a house that was not too far from Ashley’s childhood home.
Marriage
At the time, the couple were 19 years old and their relationship was going steady. Everything was going so well for them, that Ben even got on one knee to propose to his sweetheart. Ashley said yes and not much later, on the bride’s birthday, they both said “I do”. It would later become apparent that their love would not last.
Curious to find out what happened between Ashley and Ben?
A wonderful day
The wedding day was festive. It was a beautifully sunny day and all their friends and family were there to celebrate Ben and Ashley’s love. But Ashley and Ben had another thing to celebrate that day: the arrival of another child. Two days before the wedding, the couple discovered that they would become parents again.
Laure was born nine months later and this was the time for Ashley to quit her job. She wanted to focus on her family completely. Luckily, her husband had a good job and was able to earn enough to support his family. Ashley took care of raising the kids, and Ben went to the office to earn a living. That’s how simple the distribution was in their young household.
Away from home
In the years to follow, the couple expanded their happiness with two more children. It may sound like a dream, but more children also mean more expenses. And the mortgage on the house they had just obtained had to be paid for as well. Ben started to work longer days and was away from home longer and longer.
At times, Ben spent more than 16 hours in the office to keep his head above water financially. Because of this, he missed his children a lot and his wife was often already asleep as he came home. It was a huge block for their relationship. Too great an ordeal, as it later turned out.
Loneliness
Ashley started missing her husband and the attention she used to receive from him. She basically raised their children on her own and became sensitive to the attention from others. More specifically, she became more sensitive to Kevin’s attention.
Kevin is a man that Ashley met in the schoolyard. Just like her, he was waiting for his children, but the big difference between them was that Kevin was single, and Ashley was not. But what could possibly be wrong with having a friendship?
Kevin and Ashley started talking to one another more and more. It turned out they had a lot in common and they started to feel more attracted to each other. They started paying visits to each other’s homes more and more. For months, they maintained a nice friendship, but the friendship eventually turned into something more.
Suddenly, Ashley found herself in a situation she never thought she would be in: she was having an affair.
Curious to find out what happened to Ashley and Kevin’s and Ashley and Ben’s relationship?
Surprise
Naturally, Ben knew nothing about it. In fact, he was feeling guilty for leaving Ashley alone so much. One afternoon, he decided to surprise his wife. After all, he could easily sneak out of the office for a bit to spend the afternoon with his wife and children.
Unsuspecting, Kevin was in Ben and Ashley’s house as well that afternoon. As the two were having a good time, they heard Kevin coming home. What were they supposed to do now? Kevin came with the not so brilliant idea to hide. There’s nothing wrong with that in itself, but he decided to lie down on the sofa under a throw and a couple of cushions.
Picture
By now, Ben had come into the house and greeted his wife and children. Ben was enjoying the moment so much that he wanted to capture it in a photograph. And where did he want to sit? You guessed it: on the sofa.
Surprisingly, no one noticed a thing as they sat down on the sofa. They took the picture, but because Ben had to go back to the office, he did not have time to look at it.
Once in the office, Ben was eager to frame the picture. However, Ben was a busy man and he asked the receptionist if they could help him. The receptionist agreed and not much later he was presented with a printed photograph. The photo showed that something was wrong.
Bizarre discovery
At first, the picture seemed quite normal. Until you look at it more closely, which is what Ben did as well.
Instead of six, there were seven people in the picture. Who was the man he saw in the picture? He decided to confront Ashley with the picture that same day. His wife decided not to lie, but burst into tears and admitted to having an affair. Ashley was visibly upset, but that could not change his mind. He immediately made it clear that he did not want to be with her anymore.
Ben and Ashley’s story is quite sad, but is it true? We’re not quite sure. Because how is it possible that nobody noticed they were sitting on a grown man? And why was Kevin at Ashley’s house, when Ben and Ashley’s children were at home as well? Questions we don’t have the answer to. Nevertheless, the photo below remains extremely bizarre. Can you spot the seventh person in this picture?
