He took an ancestry test for his wife and found a half-brother — but it was his life story that stunned him
His wife insisted he get the test done with her and joked about how he might be adopted because of his complexion.
Ancestry tests are becoming quite the trend for multiple reasons — either just out of curiosity, a hobby, or to trace the real truth behind one’s family. A man named Andrew, who goes by u/smartass-express, shared a post on Reddit on January 22 to announce the bizarre results from an ancestry test, according to Bored Panda. The man was reluctant to take the test but eventually agreed. To his surprise, he not only discovered that he had a different biological father, but also that he had a half-brother with a surprising life story. It’s eerily detailed.
Andrew was in the military and never trusted DNA tests due to all he had heard about them. He grew up believing what he was told — his dad’s side was French and Dutch, and his mom's side was Portuguese and Swedish. His wife insisted he get the test done with her and joked about how he might be adopted because of his complexion. “I have a brown complexion and my siblings are white,” he wrote. However, this confusing visual was explained away with different theories, and Andrew believed his family's desperate attempt to hide his origin story. Giving in to his wife’s request, he finally took the test and was shocked to find no French or Dutch traces.
“On mom's side, it was English and Portuguese as expected, but dad's side was Spanish and Puerto Rican,” the man remarked. Feeling utterly confused, he decided to dig deeper and realized he had a half-brother from his dad’s side. “I didn’t believe it at first,” he said. But when he reached out to his father, things got more confusing. The elderly man couldn’t recall anyone with the names, but as soon as he heard “half-brother,” he spilled the beans. Turns out, the man wasn’t Andrew’s biological dad. It was time to get some answers from the mom. She revealed that she wasn’t in the best position back then and couldn’t remember much about who the birth dad was.
A DNA investigator took over and traced the biological dad and half-brother. The dad lived in South Carolina, but it was this newfound brother that had him baffled. Although the duo lived in different states and had no idea about each other, their lives were way too similar. “Both of us have a gay polyamorous brother. Both of us married Latinas with ADHD. Our music interests are similar. His relationship with his mom is pretty much the one I have with mine,” Andrew wrote. While the man has a lot more to uncover with the story, so far, the discovery of his brother and his similar interests has caught him off guard. Despite being separated from each other for their entire lives, they were connected somehow by having so much in common.
While Andrew is getting along with his birth dad and half-brother, he hopes to take things slow. “I did not expect anything from them. I don’t care about money, and I certainly don’t want to complicate their lives,” he said. According to data shared by the PEW Research Center, a lot of U.S. citizens have found shocking revelations from DNA testing. Around 15% of people noted that they took the DNA tests for various reasons. From these, 87% said it was to learn more about their families. Yet, 38% discovered some or the other surprising form of information from the tests. But can these results be tested?
Dr. Brandon Colby, MD, Medical Geneticist & Preventive Medicine Expert, shared his insights with Sequencing. He cautioned that accuracy "depends on reference populations, and not all tests will accurately represent your family history.” He urged people to trust DNA testing as long as it comes from a reputable organization that has geneticists or similar skilled professionals working with data and samples. u/Cheesetorian said, “It's better to know sad truths than sweet lies.” u/Anteroos94500 added, “It must be very tough, but many people think that there can always be positive consequences from knowing the truth.”
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