Bestselling author Freida McFadden, known for psychological thrillers such as “The Housemaid,” recently ended her era of using wigs, glasses and a fake name to maintain her privacy. McFadden revealed her true identity in an exclusive USA Today article, identifying herself as Dr. Sara Cohen.

She unveiled her identity because she no longer wanted to be in hiding.

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

Cohen told USA Today in a phone interview why she chose certain methods to keep her identity undercover. Her short curly hair was hidden under a wig because she had “no idea how to style” it. She also explained why the fake persona was needed in the first place; she didn’t want her career as an author to interfere with her hospital job until she was ready to make the transition to leave her position.

In her second career as a doctor, Cohen specializes in brain disorders in Boston.

“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,” Cohen said, adding that she transitioned to part-time work in 2023. “I have stepped away from my job. I only work once or twice a month.”

Cohen’s secret was only a surprise to some. Before she revealed her identity, her coworkers at her hospital job caught onto her false identity because of an Instagram post.

“I didn’t tell anyone at work that I was writing…they did all find out about it recently, thanks to an Instagram post,” Cohen said.

Even though Cohen’s secret was not completely secure, she did not take the discovery as negative. Her coworkers were completely supportive.

She said, “People have been really nice, like some people from the hospital went to see the movie, and they sent me a picture, which is really sweet.”

Despite Cohen coming forward with her true identity, she doesn’t want to leave her identity as McFadden behind. 

She said that behind the fake name was something true to her; “Even though I haven’t told my real name until now, I feel like I have shared the real me all along, and everything I’ve told them has been the truth. Even though the name will be a surprise, nothing else will. I’ve always been genuine with my readers.”

Cohen shared that she would continue to publish books under the pen name.