A woman was left stunned when she took a DNA test aged 43 after spending decades feeling ‘not fitting in’ with her family – and found her mother was having a secret affair and the man who she thought was her father was not really her biological father.
Miki O’Brien, a substitute teacher from Missouri who is now 45, said she “felt” her father was not biologically related to her from a young age due to his contrasting personality and its different appearance. family.
In 2021, three years after her father’s death, she decided to use an ancestry test to find out once and for all the truth about her parentage – and was shocked to learn that her biological father was not the man who raised her.
It turns out her mother had a one-night stand with a family friend during her marriage and he was her real father – a revelation that turned Miki’s world upside down and left her struggling with an “identity crisis”.
A woman was stunned when she took a DNA test aged 43 – and found her mum was having a secret affair and the man she thought was her father was not her biological father
Miki O’Brien, a substitute teacher from Missouri who is now 45, said she ‘felt’ her father wasn’t biologically related to her from a young age because she looked so different
“All my life I’ve felt that one of my parents wasn’t biologically my relative, but I’ve never been brave enough to ask them,” she wrote in an essay recently. for Newsweek.
“I felt like I didn’t fit into the picture. I looked nothing like my dad, and he was probably six inches shorter than me.
In 2021, three years after her father’s death, she decided to use an ancestry test to find out once and for all the truth about her parentage – and was shocked to learn that her biological father was not the man who raised her.
“He also had a widow’s peak which I didn’t inherit – but my sister did. My political views were completely opposite to those of my father and sister.
“I always felt like a black sheep in my family – not that they didn’t like me, but that I didn’t quite fit in.
‘I was the weirdo. The weird kid. They all dressed preppy and I dyed my hair blue. I always thought there was something going on, but I loved my parents too much to know what.
Miki explained that she avoided “taking a DNA test” because she feared the results would “destroy” her father if her suspicions were correct.
But after his death in 2018, she decided she had to find out and did. When he returned, she noticed that her father’s name was nowhere to be found, and instead she saw “loads of relatives she didn’t recognize”.
She then took the results to her mother who admitted to having a brief fling with a family friend during a separation between her and her husband.
She said her mother “didn’t know” the other man was her father because the doctor gave her the wrong “time frame” of her conception.
It turns out her mum had a one-night stand with a family friend during her marriage and he was her real dad – a revelation that left her struggling with an ‘identity crisis’ .
Miki explained that she had avoided “taking a DNA test” for a while because she feared the results would destroy “her father, if his suspicions were correct. She is seen as a teenager
It turns out that the man who was actually Miki’s father was someone she knew well from childhood.
He had girls she was close to, so she “played at their house” and slept there “all the time.”
Miki said she hadn’t seen her biological father’s daughters since she was seven, and he sadly passed away before she found out the truth about his parentage.
But she remembers “he was really nice and loving”.
While Miki said she felt “relieved” by the news – after spending “so many years” feeling like “something was wrong” but thinking she was “crazy” – she added that she was also “afraid” of how it might turn things around.
She said she started to feel like she ‘didn’t know who she was’ and admitted the news ‘drove a wedge between her and some of her family members who thought she didn’t. shouldn’t have passed the test.”
But after his death in 2018, she decided she had to find out and did.
She then took the results to her mother, who admitted to having a one-night stand with a family friend during a brief split between her and her husband.
Miki finally accepted the shocking revelation and decided to reach out to her stepsisters on Facebook, who “responded with nothing but positivity and excitement.” They now message regularly and plan to meet soon.
At first, she said she suffered from an “identity crisis”, but now she is “happy” to have made it and to finally know the truth.
‘[We are] surprised at how similar we are: we’re both sarcastic, with dark humor but loving hearts,” she revealed.
Further testing helped her connect with other relatives she didn’t know she had – including cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles – with whom she also came into contact.
Miki said she was “happy” to have found out the truth while her mother was still there to share the story and her children’didn’t have to try to piece things together on the road.
The substitute teacher said her children, aged 13 and 16, were not at all impressed with the news they had of family members they did not know.
She said that revelation did not change that her children were “grandpa’s boys”, adding that her father had been their “main babysitter” and helped raise them.
Miki said she had no regrets finding out about her biological father when she did, as it would have changed her relationship with her father that she was “lucky” to have.
