Reid's Biggest Secret On Criminal Minds
Over the course of the "Criminal Minds" timeline, there have been plenty of secrets between the close-knit members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. They fuel the drama between the characters, resulting in moments of vulnerability, pain, and anger. More than one has hurt Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler): When Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) fakes her death, she and JJ Jareau (A.J. Cook) wait months before telling Reid she's alive and it nearly breaks his sobriety. Later, in a controversial moment, JJ reveals to Reid that her biggest secret is that she's been in love with him all this time. It's a rough moment that threatens their friendship.
Of course, Reid has had his fair share of secrets. Early on, he purposely avoids mentioning his mother's schizophrenia, despite it having a huge impact on his childhood, current life, and fears for his own future. Then, in Season 2, after being kidnapped and drugged, he develops an addiction to the painkiller Dilaudid, which he hides from his teammates before they find out and he makes an effort to go sober.
However, Spencer Reid's biggest secret comes later, in Season 8.
A secret relationship turns deadly
Spencer Reid's secret is steeped in a long-lost plotline that dates back to Season 6 when he began having mysterious headaches. These were really meant to provide an explanation for Reid's exit in case Matthew Gray Gubler left the show, but they developed into another story entirely in Season 8. In shrouded mystery, Reid is shown talking on the phone with a mysterious woman about these headaches.
Over the course of a few episodes, it's revealed that he's had a secret relationship with a geneticist named Maeve (Beth Riesgraf) for months. While it began with discussions about the headaches, it developed into something intimate. He's kept quiet about it to his team for a long time, but things begin to change when she helps him out with a case. The reason for such secrecy? Maeve has a stalker and she's afraid of Reid getting hurt. They almost meet in person once, but the threat of the stalker spoils the date. Instead, it's when Maeve is kidnapped by her stalker that she and Reid finally meet. In a traumatizing moment, she's shot in front of him.
It's just one more trauma for the fan-favorite character, who went through too many terrible things to count over the course of 15 seasons. However, since the stalker turned out to be actually quite dangerous, you can't blame Reid for keeping his relationship with Maeve a secret.