Daughter Takes DNA Test, Finds Out the Man She Calls Dad Is a Stranger Biologically

A woman in her 50s, obsessed with genealogy, was over the moon when she found out she was about to learn more about her ancestry. But, she was shattered to find out a dark truth which led her on a path that proved difficult but purposeful.

Catherine St. Clair grew up with different colored eyes to her siblings and parents – a fact she proudly took on as something simply unique to herself.

Little did she know that her eye color held secrets just waiting to be unsealed -- a discovery that brought her to tears.

ONE TEST CHANGES EVERYTHING

This secret slowly came to light on her 56th birthday when her four siblings gifted her with an at-home DNA test. Excited, she immediately began to explore her heritage.

However, instead of some beautiful discoveries, St. Clair found out in the process that her father was not who she thought he was.

DEALING WITH THE TRUTH

Shockingly, she uncovered a hidden truth -- that the dad who raised her is not her biological parent. In 2018, St. Clair spoke about trying to come to terms with this finding and expressed:

"My respect for science was telling me that this was a fact that I needed to accept, but my heart was having a real hard time with it because it never ever occurred to me that this could ever be possible."

The 56-year-old said that after discovering this hard-to-swallow truth, she stared in the mirror and sobbed.

EMPATHIZING WITH OTHERS

Although St. Clair will never be able to change her biological roots, one course of action that has helped her is speaking to others who've had similar experiences.

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This all began when she connected with one individual online who also found out that the dad who raised them was not their blood relative. The two spoke for hours, helping one another feel validated. As she said:

"Nothing's really changed for either of us but we feel better just because we had somebody to talk to."

St. Clair started a Facebook group for others facing the same challenges. A year into its creation, the group brought in over 1,000 individuals.

THE MORE YOU KNOW

While it's lovely that so many people connect and heal, their journey towards finding their biological parents isn't always positive. When it comes to St. Clair, she said:

"I do not know the extent of any relationship that they [her biological mother and father] may or may not have had."

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While she does not know her biological father, often, the information people unearth is devastating, from rape to incest, affairs, and more.

BEAUTIFUL BONDS

St. Clair managed to get in touch with her two half-sisters. She said she was getting along with them incredibly well, forming beautiful relationships.

All in all, while St. Clair's ties to her relatives she grew up with may have been tested, at the end of the day, they remain her family. On top of this, she has two extra sisters to add to this loving mix.