Woman pretended to be her late twin for 5 years. Then, she revealed the tragic reason for doing so.

People often go to extreme lengths to make their loved ones happy and sometimes, they pretend to make people believe this illusion. Similarly, a woman named Annie Niu–who goes by @annie_niu on TikTok–shared the deeply emotional reason she had spent years pretending to be her twin, who died a few years ago. At first glance, it might sound like the setup for a scam, but the truth is far more heartbreaking. Niu lost her twin sister to viral meningitis, a tragedy the family chose to keep from their elderly grandparents. Niu took on the role of her sister during holiday phone calls—keeping the illusion alive out of love and a desire to spare them pain.

Niu posted the viral video in 2022. However, after nearly five years, she felt it was time to come clean. She told her family the truth after years of pretending and gave the heartbreaking explanation for it all in another video. The text overlay read, "POV: 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)." As curious social media users flooded her comments for more details, Niu responded with a follow-up video, offering deeper insight into her emotional journey.

While her immediate family was aware of her twin's passing, Niu revealed that it was her father's choice to keep the heartbreaking news from their grandparents and the rest of the extended family. In an interview with PEOPLE, Niu said, "This past July, my grandma passed away and on her deathbed, my dad told her that my sister passed away and that she's waiting for her on the other side." She added, "I think it's because he didn't want to withhold this information, but he also didn't want to cause them any more heartbreak. And God forbid they are 92, and something happens." She also shared how many of her family members had a negative reaction upon learning the truth.

Niu said, "My aunts made the decision to take down every single photo that contained my sister. Imagine my surprise when I took my kids to go visit my grandpa, and I look on the walls and none of our photos are there." Images of her sister were swiftly removed, maybe because, as some users noted in the comments, in some cultures, preserving pictures of the dead might be interpreted as stopping them from moving on. Several others also expressed their profound sympathies as @Flor3Nc3 wrote, "You are so selfless to bear this burden so your grandparents won't need to experience the heart breaks." Similarly, @princerose420 commented, "I’m so sorry that must be so rough."

Back in 2022, Niu explained to her followers that in many Asian cultures, it's common to protect the elderly from painful news, as there's a fear they might not survive hearing it. She also shared that her grandparents, who practically raised her and her twin sister, were incredibly close to them and would have likely kept inventing reasons for why her sister wasn't visiting. While talking about her late sister, Niu revealed that she dreams of her almost every night, feeling as though she continues to spend half her life with her, keeping her presence alive in her dreams, per the outlet.