Spoiler alert: Santa Clause isn’t real—at least, according to these celebrities. For decades, the jolly, red-suited and white-bearded man has ruled the holidays and the imagination of most children under the age of 10. You know the drill: Santa rides in on his reindeer, slips in through the chimney while everyone is sleeping, and leaves his presents before exiting with a bite of milk and cookies. The story is told a million times in a person’s childhood until they learn the catastrophic truth that Santa is fictional.
Even celebrities like Mila Kunis and Gina Rodriguez fall for the ploy. But, like most of us, they’ve lived through the deception to tell the tale. To understand how Hollywood found out about the biggest scandal to rock a third grader’s life, we rounded up stories from seven celebrities on how they learned that jolly old Saint Nicholas was a urban myth. Hear their hilarious stories, ahead.
Like a lot of us, Mila Kunis learned that Santa wasn't real from someone at school. In an interview with BuzzFeed, the actress revealed that an elementary school classmate spoiled the news by explaining how ridiculous a flying sleigh sounded. Though, not wanting his little sister to become jaded to Christmas magic, Kunis's older brother came up with the perfect solution to buy her one more year.
Gina Rodriguez spoiled the fun herself when she snuck around on Christmas Eve to find her dad putting "Santa's" presents underneath the tree. Though, from the sound of her story, her parents were relieved that they didn't have to keep the jig up.
"I knew at 4 or 5. I was so nosey. I would look in the closets," Rodriguez told "Entertainment Tonight." "I would look in the presents. I would stay up, and then I was like that ain't no Santa Clause, that's my daddy! They were like 'Child, don't worry.'"
From an early age, Justin Bieber's mom was "straight up and honest" with him about Santa. In an interview with AOL Music, the singer revealed that his mom explained to him that Santa wasn't real when he was very young, so he didn't feel lied to and betrayed when he was older.
"My mom always told me there wasn't a Santa," Bieber said. "This was her logic: She thought if I grew up knowing about Santa then finding out he wasn't real, that it would be like she was lying to me. And then when she told me about God, I maybe wouldn't believe her."
As an intuitive child, Nick Jonas always had an inkling in his mind that Santa wasn't real. In an interview with Music Choice, the singer revealed his skepticism when people told him that he would receive a lump of coal from Santa if he was bad.
"I was never given a lump of coal, thankfully," Jonas said. "Also, I never really believed in Santa Clause, to be honest. I wasn't as easy trick into thinking it was real, and that I would get the lump of coal if I was bad."
A lot of us can relate with Brad Pitt's feeling of "betrayal" when he learned that Santa wasn't real. In an interview with E! News, the actor recalled his frustration when he found out that Saint Nick was fictional.
"I'm not a real big on the whole Santa thing," Pitt said. "I thought it was a huge act of betrayal when I was a kid. I didn't like that. When I found out the truth, I was like, 'Why, why, why would you lie to me, why?'"
Mariah Carey is proof that there are some Santa believers out there. In an interview with BuzzFeed, the "All I Want for Christmas" singer outed herself as a Santa truist when she refused to fess up when she learned the holiday icon was fake.
"What are you talking about? Santa comes every year!” she said.
Little Mix member Jade Thirwall might have never known that Santa wasn't real if it wasn't for her dad's slip-up when she was a kid. In an interview with SiriusXM, the singer explained that every year her dad would dress up as Santa and put presents underneath the tree. It fooled her for a while, until one year she saw "Santa" wearing the same slippers her dad owned. Whoops!
"Dancing With the Stars" pro Witney Carson's parents were the ones who spoiled the Santa news for her. After seeing their daughter getting bullied for believing in the holiday legend, Carson's parents broke the news that wasn't was fictional—something she didn't take very well.
"I think I was about 8 or 9. I was actually devastated. I just loved Santa Claus. I believed in it so much, and my dad was like 'Honey, he's not real,'" she told "Entertainment Tonight." "It got to the point where people would still make fun of me at school because I still believed in Santa Claus. They're like, 'Sweetie, we have to tell you the truth because you’re getting made fun of at school.' They were like, 'He's not real,' and I was like 'No!'"
"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum Brandi Glanville's disappointment when she learned that Santa wasn't real in ninth grade (yes—when she was a freshman in high school) is the reason she's trying to keep the magic alive for her kids as long as she can.
"I'm telling my kids forever that he’s real," she told "Entertainment Tonight." "I was like in ninth grade [when I found out.] I was old and devastated. I learned from kids in school."
"Iron Man" actor Paul Bettany learned that Santa was fictional when he was sleeping on Christmas Eve one night when he woke up to his drunk dad ambling around, putting presents in his stocking.
“My drunk father [was] stumbling into my room and I woke up and I saw him stuffing stuff in my stocking and he went, ‘Ho, ho, ho,’" he said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"