Mississippi man thought he was an only child — until a stranger walked up and said: 'I’m your brother'

It is rare enough to find a sibling you never knew you had — it is even rarer to discover that your lives, separated by decades and geography, followed nearly identical paths. That is what happened to two strangers who met for the first time as contestants on the family discovery show Relative Race. The episode, shared by @relativerace on Instagram and expanded in a full-length YouTube segment, captured the moment the brothers, Jonathan and Anthony, met and found out that they have much more in common than their last name.

In the Instagram video, Jonathan asked Anthony, "How are we related?" Anthony looked at him and replied, "I'm your brother." Jonathan stood still for a moment, sighed, then pulled his brother in for a hug. "What's up, dude?" he said, adding, "This is awesome." Anthony responded, "It is. You are telling me." "Never thought I'd be doing this," Jonathan said. Their first conversation moved quickly from introductions to discovery. When Jonathan asked Anthony what he did for work, he replied, "Right now I'm full-time military. Prior to that, I was a firefighter in Mississippi for 12 years." Jonathan paused in surprise before saying, "I'm a career firefighter. I work in Flowood," he said.

The realization hit both of them hard. They found out they had been living in the same state, trained at the same academy, and they had both entered the same physically demanding, life-risking profession, without ever knowing they were family. Anthony later said, "When I told my brother that I also was a firefighter, he immediately broke down. That's a bond as well, and it's not an easy field. Once you get to that level, you know you can count on everybody." "Hearing the words that I'm your brother... it was like a hole just being filled. I've never had siblings. I never grew up with siblings. So to know that I have a brother, a blood brother, it was fulfilling," Jonathan added. 

He also explained that his mother passed away when he was 22, and his father died soon after. For years, he said, it felt like he had no one left, and he wanted "that extra connection." "You got it, man. I promise you that," Anthony told him. Later in the conversation, Anthony gave Jonathan a patch from his military uniform, including his name tag. "This is actually our last name. That comes off my uniform that I wear," he said. The two men talked about their lives and what it meant to start this new relationship. Anthony noted, "We got 30 years of catching up to do, and this is not going to stop here." Jonathan added, "While my brother was talking, I just kind of looked at him. You just know that’s your brother. That’s your blood."

Instagram users were moved by the reunion and expressed their thoughts in the comments. @liennyanz wrote, "I can’t get over the micro expression after hearing 'I’m your brother' — a quick short gasp and a childlike smile of excitement." @rohandrum commented, "Living in the same state, doing the same job, and graduating from the same Academy. Unbelievable. Well done, bros." @shell2024x said, "Aww, when he said 'I’m your brother,' you could see he could barely speak with the emotion." @j4ebert noted, "Having worked in foster care and with children in the system, finding a sibling has got to be so rewarding in so many ways."

You can follow Relative Race (@relativerace) on Instagram for more reunion videos.