A viral content creator pretended to be her late twin sister to avoid causing her grandparents heartbreak. For five years, Annie Niu kept the secret to herself.
Niu, known for her food, beauty and travel content, recently revealed that secret in a viral TikTok video. She explained her elderly grandparents were never told of her sister’s passing.
The original post, shared in December 2022, has since received nearly 2 million likes.
The reason behind the secret
Several viewers had questions about Niu’s decision. In a follow-up video, she explained her family’s reasoning.
“A lot of you all don’t understand, this is really common in Asian culture,” Niu said. “We try to shield them from terrible news.”
Her twin sister passed away at 29 from viral meningitis. According to the CDC, most people recover from viral meningitis within 7 to 10 days. However, in rare cases, it can be deadly.
Emotional update five years later
This December, Niu posted an emotional video update. She filmed herself crying at her grandparents’ house.
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 photo that had her in it.”
Niu explained this was her aunts’ and uncles’ decision, but it was her father who originally suggested keeping the news from her grandparents. He believed it would spare them from heartbreak.
“This past July, my grandma passed away. On her deathbed, my dad told her that my sister passed away and that she’s waiting for her on the other side,” she said in another post.
Divided reactions from viewers
Thousands of comments flooded in after Niu’s videos. Some viewers criticized the decision.
“This is so messed up, everyone deserves to know and she deserves to be remembered,” one user commented.
Others shared support for her choice.
“I understand why you didn’t tell them. I have elderly grandparents too, and we’ve done the same thing,” another user wrote.
To this day, Niu said her grandfather still doesn’t know about his granddaughter’s passing.
