Man Who Never Doubted His Parents Gets a DNA Test for Christmas Just Because His Fiancée Got One

A man surprises his fiancée with a couple of DNA kits for Christmas and takes the test despite not suspecting his ancestry. He initially laughs off the results, but the fun experiment soon becomes a nightmare.

A man’s discovery about his ancestry sounded straight out of a movie after he was blindsided by the incredible genealogical revelation about his parents. What started as a fun ancestral experiment at Christmas ended up being a whole lot to digest for him.

Redditor Rozureido88’s always longed to have a detailed record of her family tree, thanks to her overly enthusiastic hobby of genealogical tracking. Because of this, she always wanted to try one of those DNA test kits but couldn’t due to the unforeseen expenses.

That’s when the Original Poster (OP)’s partner thought a DNA test kit from 23andMe would be a great gifting idea. On seeing OP adding and removing kits to her Amazon cart, the man bought two kits as Christmas presents.

Though OP’s partner never shared the same hobby, he joined forces with her to decode their ancestry, expecting it to be a fun experience.

The couple used their respective kits and sent the samples for testing. They were excited and couldn’t wait any longer to read their results together, unaware of how it would topple their boat.

The results arrived two days later, and OP wasn’t surprised. The reports were clear-cut, and there was nothing amiss. However, her fiancé's report revealed some startling surprises.

For so long until the reports arrived, her fiancé believed he was part of the indigenous population in Canada. He was the spitting image of his mother, who was European, but with black hair like his father, who is of First Nations ancestry.

Though OP's fiancé was pale-skinned, he’d get tanned pretty quickly, but nothing oddly projected to make him question his ancestry.

However, OP's report said that he only had 2 percent Native American DNA, and it was entirely from his mother, contrary to what he’d been told all his 34 years that he was partly Swedish and partly Native American. The reports showed no Swedish DNA, fueling his doubts.

The multiple people with a common name in the column that listed potential relatives complicated things further. OP was amused that one of the last names in the list was her fiancé’s godparent's last name too.

OP’s partner laughed off the results until he dined with his sister and her husband, who was also into genealogy. Their conversation soon sparked some doubts when he mentioned the oddity in his results.

His sister turned pale and immediately revealed a massive family secret kept by their mom for years. She disclosed her godmother had told her years ago that the man who raised OP’s partner wasn’t his biological dad.

OP’s fiancé was curious to know if anyone else in his family knew about his paternity.

It turned out that the sister had a different father too from a relationship before OP’s fiancé’s mom and dad met, and it was the same godmother who revealed her paternity when she was a teen. At this point, OP's partner freaked out after discovering the man who raised him for 34 years wasn’t his birth father.

He wanted more answers, but things became a maze chase as his mother and sister’s godmother had passed away. However, they had a third familiar friend and thought she’d help solve the ancestral mystery.

OP’s partner called the woman, and she confirmed the accuracy of the tests. She also informed that him that the man who raised him was aware he wasn’t his biological dad.

The news bombed the family. Though OP’s fiancé and his alleged dad never had a great relationship, they still tried mending their relationship after the mom’s passing. The dad had signed over their house and vehicle to the children, hinting clues he’d always considered them his.

OP was worried if the wonderful relationship her partner and his dad were building would collapse and posted this stressful experience on Reddit. The story eventually amassed threads of unbelievable responses.

“Any man who takes on the task of raising a child that is not his own, and never once lets that child feel like anything else than their own, that is one hell of a father,” Redditor wonttojudge stated, adding:

“Your fiancé is so lucky to have had a dad for 30+ years, and to still have that man… It’s a flawed, painful, [expletive]-up situation, but it sounds like it came from a place of love, and maybe that will help the healing after the shock wears off.”

OP’s fiancé was curious to know if anyone else in his family knew about his paternity. Eventually, a Facebook search of his birth father revealed two half-siblings, nieces, and nephews who resided in the same town. He wanted to contact them, but OP was unsure if it was the right thing to do.

“For all we know, no one on that side has any idea my fiancé even exists, though his sister suspects they do,” OP suspected and felt terrible that their Christmas gift unraveled some stressful family secrets.

“The first thing my mom told me when I told her we were doing the tests was “Don’t be surprised if your dad isn’t actually your dad,” OP said, and it turns out her mother was right to warn her.

Questions to Ponder

Do you think the DNA results would take a toll on the fiancé's relationship with his dad?

The dad was aware the child he raised for 34 years wasn’t biologically his. Still, he didn’t let this paternity issue affect his love for his children. Even people online applauded him and said he was a man with a big heart and courage to raise a family he didn’t birth. OP's fiancé, however, was stunned that he was kept in the dark about the truth. Would this secret that has now come to light possibly affect his relationship with his father?

Do parents need to keep their children informed about their paternity?

The fiancé's mother kept her children’s paternity under wraps for some reasons best known to her. Some people argued that OP’s partner and his father were potential victims of her cheating, and since she was no more, they hoped he wouldn’t vent that frustration on his dad. How would you react if you were OP's fiancé and found out the parent who raised you isn’t genetically related to you? Do you think it would have been better if the mother was straightforward to him regarding the truth behind his paternity?

If you enjoyed reading this story, you might want to take a look at this one about how a boy who suspected he was adopted secretly gets a DNA test and reveals the results to his parents.

All images are for illustration purposes only. Please share your story with us; maybe it’ll change someone’s life. If you’d like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.