A woman was left utterly astounded after a DNA test revealed a long-lost sibling, but her discovery inadvertently ‘ruined’ his life. Her daughter recounted the surprising tale, sharing that her mother took a DNA test to delve deeper into her ancestry and was shocked by an unexpected ‘connection’ found in the results.
Recounting the experience on Reddit, the daughter disclosed: “My mum took a DNA test, and she chose the option that allowed her to be connected with family members. She has a half-brother, who was put up for adoption as he was the result of a fling her father had with an old girlfriend.”
The mother uncovered that her dad had been “forced” to separate from his girlfriend due to the heavy religious beliefs of the girlfriend’s family and their disdain for teenage pregnancy. The daughter added: “She also had to give up the baby. My mother’s side of the family never knew about him before last year.”.
“Its quite extraordinary that my grandfather kept this secret for over 60 years,” the woman’s daughter posted. After deciding to meet, the mother was struck by the resemblance her half-brother bore to her father. The newfound siblings began to bond, exchanging childhood memories and even seeking out his biological mother.
However, his wife began to feel envious of the time he spent with his newly discovered sister. The woman added: “I’m also happy for him for being able to find his biological family. It turns out he lived 20 minutes away from us for his whole life, and we had no idea. We even went to the same family doctor.
“The only negative outcome is that, after finding out about the whole thing, his wife became jealous of him spending time with all of his long-lost siblings, and they ended up getting divorced.” However, she believes he is better off without her – and says he has recently started dating another woman.
Commenting on her post, one user said: “Doesn’t sound like a downside to me. Good riddance to her.” Another user added: “Maybe having a bigger family gave him the courage to finally leave.”
A third user said: “This was common back in the day. It was all about image and a chick having a baby out of wedlock was a terrible look. Had nothing to do with religion. Less of a big deal nowadays.”