A man discovered he has a whole second family after taking a DNA test just for the fun of it and uncovering a long-held secret.
The man was left utterly shocked by the results of an at-home DNA test, ordered on a whim, that uncovered his grandmother’s past.
In a post on Reddit, the anonymous man said he had heard stories of people uncovering family secrets, but truly believed it would not be him as he thought he knew all there was to know about his family.
The man explained: “We had family secrets - my grandfather had been married before and had a child, my great aunt had a child who she had adopted. As far as we knew all those secrets were now known.”
But, after he submitted his DNA, he soon found out there was a lot more to his family history.
He continued: “One day I got a message from a woman saying she couldn't figure out how we were matched and I looked and realised there was a group of matches that didn't make sense.
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“Between us we used DNA painter to create a ‘what are the odds’, it took quite a while to do and by this point, I thought one of my grandparent's fathers wasn't who we thought. I ask my parents but no one seemed any the wiser.
“One day DNA painter just clicked and I realised my mum's dad wasn't the person we thought it was. My grandmother is still alive, nearly 90. I spoke to her and told her I knew. She has dementia but her memory of these events are crystal clear.”
The poster revealed that his mother was the result of a holiday romance between his grandmother and another man. The man had wanted to marry her, but the Redditor's grandmother had told him she was not in love with him.
When the news finally came out due to the DNA test, it was difficult for the family to comprehend, but there were some positives alongside it.
He explained: “It was a very tough month, my mum cried a lot but there was a huge relief too. The man she thought was her dad wasn't very nice to her and treated her differently to her siblings. Although it didn't make it right it did allow her to at least know why.”
He added: “I am so glad this came out whilst my Nan was alive. She was able to tell us a lot of detail we would never have known. In all honestly it's brought a lot of peace to my mum and it's worked out well but it was still a huge shock which I couldn't have predicted.”
Although his story had a relatively positive ending, the Redditor warned others about the possibility of finding out family secrets and urged people to be mindful of that eventuality.
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