The wild theory that forced The Housemaid author to reveal true identity after 23 years

The author of The Housemaid, Freida McFadden, has revealed her identity after bizarre theories about who she really is have gone viral.

Freida McFadden is a thriller novel writer, who is best known for her Housemaid series. Although she kept her real identity hidden, Freida has been open about her real job as a physician who specialises in traumatic brain injury. But because of her high output, lots of people have been theorising that she’s lying about her identity.

A popular Reddit thread posted last year questioned whether Freida is actually just one person after she released five books in one year. Some people accused Freida of using AI; others accused her of being multiple people, including three men. But in an interview with USA Today, Freida revealed her real name and face.

Can we talk about how fast Freida McFadden is publishing books?
byu/DogMom1970s inthrillerbooks

“I’m at a point in my career when I’m tired of this being a secret. I’m tired of people debating if I’m a real person or if I’m three men,” she said. “I am a real person, and I have a real identity, and I don’t have anything to hide.”

Freida’s real name is Sara Cohen, and she is actually a brain physiologist. Of her disguise, the only fake part is the wig.

“I have no idea how to style my hair,” she explained.

Most Read

Here’s what ‘you the birthday’ actually means on TikTok because none of it makes sense

Guys, the shocking ‘real’ reason Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney are beefing has been revealed

Here’s the full video of MAFS Australia’s Joel drumming and it’s even worse than I imagined

“My whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was (ready to) step back from my doctor job, so it wouldn’t be like everyone I work with suddenly knew, and it compromised my ability to do my job, but I have stepped away from my job. I’m only working like once or twice a month.”

“Freida McFadden reveals her true identity” chile pic.twitter.com/JvsPslRjHp

— sydney (the rock’s wig in moana) (@glitterrouge) April 8, 2026

“I just realised I was completely overwhelmed from trying to do both,” she continued.

Responding to the bizarre theories about her identity, Sarah said: “Some of them are just so out there. Some of it is great. I think every author gets ‘AI is writing her books,’ even though most of them were written before AI. One that’s very funny is people saying that I’m three men, and I think that’s hilarious.”

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image via YouTube