Family Secrets is a production of I Heart Radio. I'm Danny Shapiro, and this is family Secrets, the secrets that are kept from us, the secrets we keep from others, and the secrets we keep from ourselves. As I tore the nation from my book Inheritance, I've heard from so many about your own family secrets and realize that what we are creating for each other on this podcast is a community, a community for those who are looking for a safe and supportive space to unburden themselves. To that end, we've created a number for listeners to call in to record stories to share here in this space. This week, I'd like to share a few of those stories from our community. Thanks for listening, Hi, I wanted to share my story worry about being protected from a secret and share a first cousin story who's still in the throws of the family secret. So, growing up, my mother was a single mom for a little while to three children, and she met my dad or my stepdad, UM when I was years old, and I, of course, just as a little girl, film up with him. He was so much fun and um. Over the course of quite a few years, I remember my mom pulling me aside and telling me, Um, you know you can call him dad. He loved you, but he's not your father. There's another man out there and one day you will get to meet him, hopefully. And I did when I was twenty years old, which is another long story. UM, I did meet my biological father and UM last year I was I'm in my thirties now, I took my whole family out. We actually went to his house for the first time ever and met some of my half siblings for the first time ever, and it was amazing and I felt complete. I know that sounds cheesy, but I felt very complete and loved and it just explained these unexplainable, invisible things. So the other side of the story is my first cousin. It would be my mother's sister's son who UM grew up calling my uncle dad, and it's not Actually he's not his biological father. And unfortunately I'm privy to this um unfortunate information through family drama and gossip. And my aunt doesn't know that I know my cousin. He doesn't even know anything about it. And I just really feel for him because I've seen him over the years. We've been very close for seven months apart. Um, there's something missing in his life. I believe this is what it is, not knowing that side of his family, and I could be completely wrong, but my heart does ache for him. He has a younger brother, and there's some very very big differences, and you know, it just makes you wonder why one sister would tell the truth and the other one wouldn't. Um, maybe just hide it and be more private. Yeah, so I wanted to share my story. And also I have three small children, and I always tell them there are no secrets in this house. There are no good secrets. So I don't know if that's a good thing, but I do tell them that. So I'm all about the truth, even when it's hard. Thank you so much for your podcast. That's really like hidden out with me in my heart, and I just really am enjoying it. Hi. UM. My family secret is that when I was about ten years old, I found some family documents showing that um, the man I believed to be my father had legally adopted me when I was a child, and that I had a man that did not want to be involved in my life. Um. I did meet him later on, and he still adamantly just did not want to be in vault. Um growing up. I'm now in my thirties and at the ancestry DNA just too. I think that I was proving that he was my biological father, and come to find out he is not. Um, I've now found this whole other family that I did not know that I had, and this man that is my biological father had wanted to be involved in my life. So now we are in the process of tracking him down and getting to know this whole o their family. UM. So that is my family secret. Thank you. Hi. I thought i'd call in and share some of my story. So very long and convoluted story with lots of twists and turns, So I'll try and be brief and just pick the one that kind of is the most present and prevalent in my current situation. UM. My mother family had always told me that a certain man was my father. UM. He was never involved in my brother in my life. My brother and I are two years apart. UM. He appeared all of a sudden when my brother and I were thirteen and fifteen, respectively. Well, I was thirteen and he was fifteen. He was in town for a wedding and we and we met him, and I remember when we met him, um for the first time, looking at him and then looking at my brother and thinking, wow, what a resemblance, but then feeling really lost because I looked nothing like him. I should mention that my family is is Italian and um, this man was black. Um, and my brother was visibly mixed. Um I was not. I never was. Fast forward into my early twenties, I married, I have my first child, and my husband is kind of poking fun at me that you know, you can't possibly think that's your father. And keeping in mind again, I had no relationship with this man. He just you know, I know of him. There's no name on my birth certificate. My mother gave me her last name, but she gave my brother our father's last name. Um, it's the last words. And I said, you know, you might have a point. So I slide to the province that he's in and we do a DNA test, and of course she's not my father. I confront my mother and UM, she denies, and she's she shounds so convincing in her life that you know, I don't know what you're talking about. This is he's the only person that it could be so I kind of leave it at that, and I asked the family and they say, no, well, I mean this is that's to your father's And he said, well, you know, I'm white like she was black. Hello, um, I felt like it was in the toilet, don't really. Just then fast forward another ten years and my mother dies out there's various things that she had along with her, and I do the end sister Dnah test and it comes back that UM with some second cousin matches UM from Portugal. So I find out that my my father's family is from the a source UM in Portugal. And so I'm on a mission to try and locate my father and it's very difficult because the families are you know, ten and twenty siblings large. But I'm on my way, and at least now I know what the other side of me is. Thanks for letting me share my story. Take care. If you'd like to share your story, call one eight eight eight Secret zero and record your story. We won't be able to run all the stories, but we do want to shine a light on as many as we can. The number again is one eight eight secret and in the numeral zero for more podcasts for My Heart radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Family Secrets is a production of I Heart Radio. I'm Danny Shapiro, and this is family Secrets, the secrets that are kept from us, the secrets we keep from others, and the secrets we keep from ourselves. As I tore the nation from my book Inheritance, I've heard from so many about your own family secrets and realize that what we are creating for each other on this podcast is a community, a community for those who are looking for a safe and supportive space to unburden themselves. To that end, we've created a number for listeners to call in to record stories to share here in this space. This week, I'd like to share a few of those stories from our community. Thanks for listening, Hi, I wanted to share my story worry about being protected from a secret and share a first cousin story who's still in the throws of the family secret. So, growing up, my mother was a single mom for a little while to three children, and she met my dad or my stepdad, UM when I was years old, and I, of course, just as a little girl, film up with him. He was so much fun and um. Over the course of quite a few years, I remember my mom pulling me aside and telling me, Um, you know you can call him dad. He loved you, but he's not your father. There's another man out there and one day you will get to meet him, hopefully. And I did when I was twenty years old, which is another long story. UM, I did meet my biological father and UM last year I was I'm in my thirties now, I took my whole family out. We actually went to his house for the first time ever and met some of my half siblings for the first time ever, and it was amazing and I felt complete. I know that sounds cheesy, but I felt very complete and loved and it just explained these unexplainable, invisible things. So the other side of the story is my first cousin. It would be my mother's sister's son who UM grew up calling my uncle dad, and it's not Actually he's not his biological father. And unfortunately I'm privy to this um unfortunate information through family drama and gossip. And my aunt doesn't know that I know my cousin. He doesn't even know anything about it. And I just really feel for him because I've seen him over the years. We've been very close for seven months apart. Um, there's something missing in his life. I believe this is what it is, not knowing that side of his family, and I could be completely wrong, but my heart does ache for him. He has a younger brother, and there's some very very big differences, and you know, it just makes you wonder why one sister would tell the truth and the other one wouldn't. Um, maybe just hide it and be more private. Yeah, so I wanted to share my story. And also I have three small children, and I always tell them there are no secrets in this house. There are no good secrets. So I don't know if that's a good thing, but I do tell them that. So I'm all about the truth, even when it's hard. Thank you so much for your podcast. That's really like hidden out with me in my heart, and I just really am enjoying it. Hi. UM. My family secret is that when I was about ten years old, I found some family documents showing that um, the man I believed to be my father had legally adopted me when I was a child, and that I had a man that did not want to be involved in my life. Um. I did meet him later on, and he still adamantly just did not want to be in vault. Um growing up. I'm now in my thirties and at the ancestry DNA just too. I think that I was proving that he was my biological father, and come to find out he is not. Um, I've now found this whole other family that I did not know that I had, and this man that is my biological father had wanted to be involved in my life. So now we are in the process of tracking him down and getting to know this whole o their family. UM. So that is my family secret. Thank you. Hi. I thought i'd call in and share some of my story. So very long and convoluted story with lots of twists and turns, So I'll try and be brief and just pick the one that kind of is the most present and prevalent in my current situation. UM. My mother family had always told me that a certain man was my father. UM. He was never involved in my brother in my life. My brother and I are two years apart. UM. He appeared all of a sudden when my brother and I were thirteen and fifteen, respectively. Well, I was thirteen and he was fifteen. He was in town for a wedding and we and we met him, and I remember when we met him, um for the first time, looking at him and then looking at my brother and thinking, wow, what a resemblance, but then feeling really lost because I looked nothing like him. I should mention that my family is is Italian and um, this man was black. Um, and my brother was visibly mixed. Um I was not. I never was. Fast forward into my early twenties, I married, I have my first child, and my husband is kind of poking fun at me that you know, you can't possibly think that's your father. And keeping in mind again, I had no relationship with this man. He just you know, I know of him. There's no name on my birth certificate. My mother gave me her last name, but she gave my brother our father's last name. Um, it's the last words. And I said, you know, you might have a point. So I slide to the province that he's in and we do a DNA test, and of course she's not my father. I confront my mother and UM, she denies, and she's she shounds so convincing in her life that you know, I don't know what you're talking about. This is he's the only person that it could be so I kind of leave it at that, and I asked the family and they say, no, well, I mean this is that's to your father's And he said, well, you know, I'm white like she was black. Hello, um, I felt like it was in the toilet, don't really. Just then fast forward another ten years and my mother dies out there's various things that she had along with her, and I do the end sister Dnah test and it comes back that UM with some second cousin matches UM from Portugal. So I find out that my my father's family is from the a source UM in Portugal. And so I'm on a mission to try and locate my father and it's very difficult because the families are you know, ten and twenty siblings large. But I'm on my way, and at least now I know what the other side of me is. Thanks for letting me share my story. Take care. If you'd like to share your story, call one eight eight eight Secret zero and record your story. We won't be able to run all the stories, but we do want to shine a light on as many as we can. The number again is one eight eight secret and in the numeral zero for more podcasts for My Heart radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.