Could This Be The Father I've Been Searching For Since I Was 16?! | KARAMO

So what exactly were you told about your father?

Well, at the age of 16, the man who raised me, he basically sat me down and was explaining like, "Hey baby girl, I'm not your biological father." So I decided to continue to search.

Well, let me back up because that's a lot to just put on a 16-year-old when you've been the man that I've known my entire life. Did you confront your mother about this and what did she say?

At the time my mother was incarcerated, so I could not contact her. Wow.

That's a lot. How were you feeling at that time?

I was betrayed, like—

You felt betrayed. So what have you learned recently about Cornelius?

Really the only thing I've learned is he has several kids. He's a hardworking man, you know. My mom did kind of inform me that they had a quote unquote relationship.

So for everyone to understand, after 16 you went on your search and Cornelius, Cornelius is a name that came up based on your mother. And how did exactly did you find Cornelius?

I searched for him on social media. He popped up, a couple of family members popped up, phone numbers.

Exactly.

And I just went from that point on.

Got it, okay then. So how does it feel to be connected with the man that potentially could be your father?

It gives me hope. It's a bright future, I hope.

And let me just be clear, 'cause you said your mother said they had a relationship. So does she feel that this is she is your father?

In her mind, he's 100%.

100%.

She has no doubt.

Got it. And how has your interactions with his daughters, your potential sisters, been?

It's just been short. It's been times like we were supposed to hang out but never went through with it, I guess.

Okay. So there's no real relationship.

No real relationship.

And what about with Cornelius? Have you spoken with him?

Only on the phone.

Only on the phone.

Okay then. I've never seen, either of them in person, only phone.

And what did he tell you?

He told me it's a possibility that I can be his daughter. He do know about the situation.

Got it.

And how did you feel to learn that your mother refused a DNA test?

I feel like, why not give me that? You caused me a lot of pain, a lot of things I could have had. A lot of things that could have been prevented, abuse, homelessness, you know, a lot of things could have been prevented if she would've did that. And that hurt me a lot.

Got it, got it. So growing up, what was your life like? 'Cause I just heard you say that there was homelessness and other things.

Growing up was hard. She basically would move us to different states. She would go back to New Orleans and we would be in a state by ourself.

Yeah.

And you say us by ourselves, you have another sibling?

My older sister.

Your older sister. So you, just the two of you as children?

Just the two of us.

Got it. And then who was raising you?

Basically everybody. Everybody had a hand in it from strangers to family.

So why do you think knowing the truth sooner could have prevented some of the homelessness and abuse?

From what I know, he's an active father. So, you know, it could have been times where I could have said, hey dad, this is going on with mom. Like, you know, can you come help me? Like, can you come save me? She could've saved me, like that could've been a resourceful moment for me to not go through what I went through.

Yeah.

You know, but with her declining it, it is just too much.

Yeah. Did Cornelius know about you as a child?

Yes.

Wow.

So how long has this been going on, this since you found Cornelius?

In 2021.

So 2021 till today, is there a relationship that's being established? Is he stepping up? Is he in your life?

Honestly, I don't reach out to him. Like that because I don't wanna build a relationship or I don't wanna get accustomed to something, me nor my child, and he may not be my father.

So Dayshell, are you ready to meet your potential sister Myra for the first time in person?

I am.

I am.

All right, well, so everyone please welcome Myra to the show. [APPLAUSE] Hi, Myra.

You look cute.

It's you.

It's me, baby.

So what was your, first of all, thanks for being here.

No problem.

You look cute.

Thank you.

What was your reaction the first time that you got the message claiming that she could be your sister?

I was shocked 'cause this is the second time that that has happened with my dad.

Oh wow.

It wasn't the first time. Yeah. So it was shocking, intriguing as well by her being the age that she was at the time. She was a bit older. So I immediately gave him her information and they just kind of took it from there.

How have the interactions been between you two though?

We were supposed to meet up a few times, but I was a bit apprehensive about it due to us not knowing for sure and to not get feelings involved from either angle. I just felt it was best to just keep our distance until we knew for sure.

She always kept in touch though.

Yeah, I'll reach out and check in on her, but.

So would you like to form a relationship with her if she is your sister?

Yeah, absolutely. I'm close with most of my siblings. It's a lot of us, but I'm close with most of 'em. So yeah, I would like to kind of get closer with her.

Is it true that you knew her mother?

Yes, I do. I knew her mother by default through a friend of mine, but she never knew who my dad was and I didn't know she had Deshelle. Wow.

Really? What a small little world if it is that girl.

New Orleans is very small.

Well, listen, Deshelle, are you ready to meet your potential sister? Meet her potential father Cornelius for the first time ever.

Oh Lord, yes.

Yeah?

Well everyone, please welcome Cornelius to the show.

[APPLAUSE] How you doing, sir?

How you doing?

Oh, nice to meet you, sir.

Nice to meet you.

Thank you for being here.

All right.

So what did you feel when you heard that Deshelle might be your daughter?

I wasn't shocked simply because me and her mom did have dealings, but it wasn't like, It was a relationship type thing. It was, you know, we hook up. I was kind of confused with it simply because I asked her for a DNA. 'Cause I knew that she was dealing with someone else too. And I think it's the guy that used to be in her life or whatever. So I asked for a DNA and I rarely did that with any of my kids. By the way, I have 11 kids, 10 baby mamas. Don't judge me, crowd. Don't judge.

Don't judge my daddy out there.

Don't judge me. You know, yeah, and it's like, so when she, you know, and I asked and she told me no, I mean, I mean, any man could tell you red flags went up. It kind of blew me 'cause I'm like, well, why wouldn't you give me a DNA if you knew that's my, you know— Your daughter, yeah. My daughter, you know.

Why do you think she refused the DNA test? Is it because you just feel like you're not the dad, or do you feel like it's because there was other men?

My mama just play a whole lot of games. It's no real reason why she declined the DNA test.

Do you think you were kept out of her life on purpose?

I wouldn't say. I mean, she just explained how a mother is, period. So that kind of answers my question, which you asking me. So I mean, maybe.

Do you feel like you were robbed an opportunity to be with your daughter?

Very much so. I mean, because I mean, I had opportunities with my other kids, you know, she missed out on things like that. And if she's my daughter, I would feel real bad. Simply because I know what she went through. She told me over the phone the things that she went through. If this is my daughter, then I feel I failed even though I didn't know.

You didn't, yeah, you didn't know.

You know what I'm saying? But I still will feel some way down inside I failed 'cause it's not fair to her.

So can I ask you this? So because she got in contact with you within 2021 and she said from her own admission that she's been standoffish because she didn't wanna get an emotional attachment if she didn't know for sure. Why didn't you just try to step up then and get the DNA test in 2021?

Okay, well 2021, I think she was graduating.

I was graduating in high school.

And she called me and at the time she, well she asked me, you know, could I come to her graduation? I will send you a, you know, invitation for the graduation. And I went to prison in '21. I got out in '25.

Oh God.

Last year. So this is why, okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was gone 4 years. I was in federal prison and when I got out, I was by my daughter's house in Baton Rouge and Deshelle reached out to my daughter. So I'm in the house sitting on the couch and she come and tell me, she was like, "Dad, Deshelle called and wanna know if she can get your number." I said, "Sure, give her the number." Okay then.

So the minute you had an opportunity, you were stepping up.

Absolutely. This is now, yeah. This is the second time though.

This is the second time?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But it makes sense that the first time you had some situation with the law, And now you're here. Yes. Okay, so what role do you wanna play in your daughter's life if she is yours?

I wanna be active, very active. I mean, she have a, I mean, you know, a newborn pretty much. And she says she's getting married. That was one of her first things. And that's what made me really wanna like feel like her to be my daughter because she was like, if you my dad, I want you to walk me down the aisle.

Wow.

You know what I'm saying? And that, you know. Don't make me cry. Yeah, you know that, you know.

We gonna try. Well, I think it's time to find out the truth.

Truth and find out if he will be walking down the aisle. So are you ready for this truth?

Yes.

Well, come with me. [APPLAUSE] So Deshelle, you want to know if Cornelius is your father. You were raised with thinking one man was your father while your mother was incarcerated. And then your life at 16 took a turn when you found out he was not your father. And then doing some searching, doing some digging, and getting a name from your mother, you found Cornelius and his daughter.

Mm-hmm, yes.

So in this envelope is your truth. It is not my truth to open, it's yours. So good luck.

Um, before I open it, Myra, Mr. Cornelius, I just wanna thank y'all for even coming down here. Y'all didn't have to do this.

Not a problem, girl, not a problem.

Thank you, thank y'all for being open to me.

Absolutely.

Thank y'all.

Definitely.

Deyshell Cornelius is not your biological father.

Wow.

Sorry.

Don't worry about that, don't worry about that. Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. Don't cry.

We'll still be here.

Don't cry. We'll still be together. Don't cry. Don't, don't, don't cry. I was hoping it would turn out different, but don't worry about it. It gonna be all right. All right, don't worry about it. You'll be all right.

Cornelius, can I ask you a question?

Yeah.

First of all, Daeshell, I'm very sorry. You know, we hope that you would got your answers here. Young, come take a seat for me. I'm very sorry. I'm very, very sorry, love. But you had said that when you were younger, there was another man and you assumed that it was the guy that raised her. Do you remember his name?

No, because the guy she had told me about wasn't the same guy that I was talking about.

Oh, it's not?

My sister's father, but he's passed away, so I don't know.

Okay.

Is there any other name that your mother has given that possibly—

No, like, To her, he was it. He was it. To my family, he was it. Like, you know, they was telling stories, he was it, you know?

Okay. And you said that the other man was your sister's father who has passed away. Have you and your sister ever did a sibling DNA to see if that was your father?

No, because growing up it was like we always knew we had separate dads.

Do you look alike?

People say we look alike, I mean.

Yeah, but you don't know if that's just from your mother's side.

Yeah.

Do you think that she would agree to a sibling DNA test to see if maybe that was your biological father?

Yeah.

And is there any way that we can support you in talking to your mother to see if there's any other answers that she can give?

I don't wanna talk to her.

You don't want to?

I don't wanna talk to her.

I do wanna say this though, Gachelle. Sometimes our parents, they, make mistakes, right? You know, I know that you're probably mad with her. I get it. But you know, I mean, that's not gonna help you find your answer. So don't put that kind of stress on yourself being angry with her because it takes way more energy to be angry than it is to let something go. Mm-hmm.

Right?

So just keep that in mind.

And I would, you know, I would like to say that, I mean, even though I know it's hurting you, You know, I don't want you to be bitter towards your mom 'cause at the end of the day, that's who brought you into the world. But by the way, Karamo, I wanted to let you know I do watch your show. I love your show. I love the energy and the vibe you bring.

I appreciate that, brother.

Thank you. You know, and you know what?

Okay, appreciate that.

I'm glad to be here.

I'm glad to meet you.

I'm glad to meet you as well.

Hold up, well, you were incarcerated, so you was watching me in jail?

Hell yeah, man. Oh, that's what's up.

Listen, listen, listen. It's crazy 'cause I got a partner named [MASKED]. He been now 36 years. He's from Virginia. He used to come outta the cell like, "Man, you watching this show again? You in these talk shows." I said, "But Karamo, bro, lit, bro. He look like he trying to catch up with Murray." Okay.

I appreciate you. You know what I'm saying?

Man, I be watching the talk show, man. Come on, we got 8 TVs in here, man. Let me watch Karamo.

Yeah, I appreciate it. Well, shout out to all the inmates. I appreciate that love for real. Shout out to all of y'all. Y'all keep y'all heads up. Seriously, I appreciate that.

And I'll tell you this, like what you've gotten here is love and support.

Thank you.

And again, you're not alone in this moment. You have now found us who can give you any guidance you need. We are a destination and we try to come here to make sure that especially we have answers and we have resources. So whatever you need, please know you can ask us and we will do our damnedest to try to help you, okay?

Okay.

Because you were the kid in this situation.

Yes.

And you deserve support. So we're here for you, okay?

Okay. Yeah.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

And thank y'all for being here as well.

Thank you.

Thank you for saying that. I appreciate that.