Man took a discounted DNA test as a joke — then a message from Austria uncovered a 75-year-old family secret

With the help of modern science and technology, tracing one's lineage has become incredibly easy. A Moroccan man (u/lovely_psuedo) on Reddit shared how testing his DNA for fun led to discovering a 75-year-old mystery. He bought the DNA testing kit on a whim since it was on discount, and tried it with his wife. The results showed that she was 100% Moroccan, while he was just 80% Moroccan. They laughed about it and had forgotten about it until a month later, when he received a message from an Austrian man claiming they were his lost family. What unfolded next was straight out of a Hallmark movie. The wholesome post from May 12, 2026, has garnered 4000 upvotes and 95 comments so far.

Grandfather's secret

The author received an email from MyHeritage notifying him about a message from an Austrian man who claimed they were related. The DNA matches showed that the Austrian man's mother was his half-aunt (14.2%), while the man was listed as his first cousin (6.2%). To prove his claim, he told the author that his grandmother and grandfather met in 1947 when grandfather was serving in the French army and stationed in Vienna. This story sent chills down the author's spine because it aligned with stories his mother and aunts told him about his grandfather, and also uncovered the story behind a mystery woman.

A wholesome reunion

After he returned from the war, the grandfather kept a photo of himself and a European woman hidden in his safe — even after marrying the author's grandmother. The author's family tried locating the woman, but never found out who she was. That mystery finally made sense when the Austrian man reached out. His mother turned out to be the child from that relationship — the very link the family had been searching for all along. 

She had grown up not knowing who her father was, never seeing his face or even learning his name, because her mother refused to speak about him. When the author checked the DNA results again, everything lined up. "His mother was listed as my 'Half Aunt': Shared DNA (14.2%). And he was listed as my 'First Cousin.' Shared DNA (6.2%)," the author wrote.

The author shared the news with his family, and everyone was ecstatic. Even though she was 74 years late, his 'aunt' finally learned the truth about her father. "Overnight, because of a random DNA test, their family suddenly grew by 400%," the author said. He also pointed out that the woman did not need a DNA test to confirm they were family because she looked exactly like her sisters (his aunts). 

Genetic surprises

DNA testing can uncover certain truths within a family. In some cases, they're joyful, such as the author's story, but other times, it makes people dig into their family history. For instance, a YouGov poll on 1,164 American citizens revealed that 21% have taken a 'mail-in' DNA test, 33% of the respondents were surprised by the results, whether pleasant or not, and 25% said that the DNA test revealed they had other family members they had no clue about. 16% of the respondents also admitted that the test changed the way they think of themselves from a racial and ethnic point of view.

Readers were excited

The Austrian family has planned to visit Morocco so that she can visit her father's grave. People in the comments were touched by the story, u/CynthiaMWD wrote, "Wow, what a rich family story. It's amazing what DNA reveals. Congratulations!" u/Liontamer67 added, "I love this so much. So happy for everyone in your family. Glad your grandpa held on to the picture. I’ve helped cousins out a couple of times to find how they were related via my DNA matching theirs."

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