I made up a huge lie about my dad to gain sympathy and attention from the guy I had a crush on, and now I’m actually in the relationship I’ve always dreamed of.

I (25F) have been in love with my boyfriend (27M) since I was 15. He was the popular boy in school and I was the shy theater girl, and there was no way he even knew I existed. He was my huge crush, and when we met up again in our mid-20s, I had the chance to pursue a relationship with him. The first time we hung out one-on-one, I found myself severely intimidated and I made huge mistake. <br>I told him my father died the day before I was born, and how my mother raised me on her own. I said my dad was from the military and was overseas when he found out I was on the way. He never got to see my mother pregnant, never got to see me, and never got to watch me grow up. I explained how I have no pictures of my father holding me because he never got to hold me. I told this huge lie in order to get sympathy from the guy I loved. The truth is my father is very much alive, and he’s my hero and the closest person in my life. I’ve never felt unloved by my father and the relationship we have is very strong, and I have always admired, respected, and adored him. He’s always been there for me, supported me, and never strayed from being the selfless, loving, intelligent, and amazing man he is. He’s such an important figure in my life. I made my lie up out of thin air because I knew my now-boyfriend would be touched by such a story. He was touched, and I could tell he liked me after that. He asked me out and the rest is history. We’ve been together for over a year. I continue to feed him lies about my “dead” father. I’m just overjoyed to be in a relationship with him and am too scared to admit to the truth so late in the game. He will probably be very upset and disappointed in me for lying about such a thing. I realize now that I made up the lie to manipulate him into feeling bad for me and to get him to date me. I don’t know how I’m going to fix this.