Did My Daughter Find MY Father? | KARAMO

My mother has been searching for her biological father all her life, and I was able to get a lead in 3 minutes. I'm like a mini private investigator. I did a search for the name Robert, and when I was scrolling, I came across a photo of a man that looked like he could be my grandfather. He had the same eyes as my mother, he had the same nose as my mother, he looked just like her. That photo was actually posted by his son Robert Jr. Robert Sr. actually passed away decades ago, but Robert Jr. could be my mom's brother, and through him, she was able to connect with other potential siblings. It would mean the world to my mom to finally know where she comes from. I think I found my mom's family, but we need Karamo to confirm.

Well, I'm glad y'all are here so I can help you confirm. Everyone, please welcome, Shan is in the audience right now. Hey Shan, how you doing?

Hello.

We're gonna talk to you a little bit later, but I wanna welcome everyone, your mother Antoinette to the show first. How are you doing? How you doing?

I'm blessed, I can't complain.

Good, this is a 53-year-old DNA mystery.

Yes, it is.

Wow.

Yes, it is.

So how did this whole search start for you?

Well, it started when my mother and my stepfather sat me down when I was 12 years old and told me that he wasn't my biological father. So after that, I was like, you know what, the search is on, okay?

Yeah.

So I'm from Detroit, we used to have a phone book that was like this thick. So I went through the phone book, I went through every Robert like hundreds of them and no luck. But like a year or two later, we did find one of his sisters. So we went to her and met with her and she was looking for my dad's number. So she told us to come back. We came back maybe a couple weeks later and she had passed away. So it was like a dead end, you know? So I'm like, oh my God.

How old were you at that age?

I was about, I wanna say maybe about 19.

19.

About 19.

So 19 to get so close after, some of y'all young kids, y'all don't understand going through the, The Yellow Pages, page by page. This was a task, okay? And then to get close and then to have her pass, that must have been a devastating moment for you.

It actually was. It was, you know. But I said, you know what? My search is not gonna stop here, okay?

Of course.

So, yeah.

What had your mother told you about your father?

I didn't know much. I just knew like the area that he hung out in in Detroit. I knew his name. And his sister, one of his sister's names. And that was pretty much it.

Got it. How did you get your daughter involved in all this?

Actually, okay, so I'm talking to my daughter on the phone. I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna continue my search for my dad. 'Cause I had made a post about 7 years ago on Facebook with everything that I just told you. No luck. So she's on Facebook like she always is, okay? Facebooking. And 3 minutes later she's like, Mom, I think I found him. I'm like, huh?

3 minutes.

3 minutes. I swear on everything, it was 3 minutes, y'all. So 3 minutes later, she like, Ma, I'm sending you the picture. She sent me a picture. It was a picture of my father because that's on my brother's page. So she was like, he looks just like you. Like, uh-uh, y'all, that's your dad. So I'm like, okay, I'm gonna inbox the guy whose page, you know, page the pictures on. I said, we may be siblings. And he like, okay. I said, can I ask you some questions? He said yes. So the first question I asked him and he said yes to that. I'm like, oh my God, my heart is like beating out my chest. So I asked him another question. He like, yes again. I'm like, oh my God.

Hold on, we have those initial texts with your potential brother. Can I see them with your potential brother Robert? Okay, you said, good afternoon, Mr. Robert, my name is, you so polite. Mr. Robert, my name is Antoinette and I'm searching for my father and his name is Robert as well. I was wondering, could I ask you some questions, see if he was related? "I don't have a lot of information. Do you know if your dad lived around the blank and blank area and hung out around that area in the '70s?" And I appreciate you responding to reaching out to people with the exact same name with no luck. "Yes, he hung out that way when I was a kid." Okay, good. So that was good. "Okay, wow. I don't want to make you feel kind of way, but we might be siblings." He said, "I will call you in 30 minutes." Wow. Okay. So how did you feel knowing you may have connected with your father to have the family right there?

It was amazing.

Yeah.

Just to have, you know, that moment, you know? Yeah. And then when he called me, I'm at work and I just bust out crying. People looking at me, I'm like, I'm sorry, I think I found my daddy.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

So yeah, that's how it kind of went.

Wow. 3 minutes, okay.

Yeah.

I mean—

Inspector Gadget.

Yeah, right? Your potential father had 9 other children. Has everyone been welcoming towards you?

No.

No. No.

I've only met two so far.

And they've been good?

My brother, he, yes, yes, yes, he has.

Okay.

He's been very welcoming, even his wife.

Okay.

Okay. But not so much with my sister. I kind of, you know, kind of felt the vibe from her like, okay, you know, she might be reluctant. You know what I'm saying? Which I get that.

Yeah, okay then. So why is this DNA test important to you?

It is important to me because I just wanna find that piece of the missing puzzle.

Well, Antoinette's potential sister Pat is here today, so everyone please welcome her to the show. Hi Pat, how are you doing?

Hello, how you doing?

Thank you for being here.

Hello.

So how do you feel about what was just said?

Well, it's true, and I feel kind of reluctant because, don't take it personal. It's not personal, it's business. But we had this, I said before, you know, we might not look like much, but you know, everybody wanna be part of this family. Uh-huh.

Okay.

We went through this before with a young gentleman, and he said the same thing, but at the same time, he was trying to hit on me.

Oh.

So what kind of brother is that? I ain't gonna hit on y'all. I'm not trying to be funny, I just don't wanna get emotionally attached, you know? And I get that, I get that. But at the same time, I do gotta give you a chance. You know what I'm saying? Because I'm, you know.

So you're that other sibling that's skeptical. She's, you're the, okay then, got it, okay then. So you're hesitant to embrace her because of this other gentleman that came into your life before. Makes sense to me. But what I appreciate about what you just said is that you're willing to give her a shot.

And I appreciate that. Look, I appreciate that as well.

Did it surprise you to hear that your father may have other children?

Hell yeah.

Yeah.

Well, not for me, 'cause my mama said he was a rolling stone.

Got it, got it, got it.

It might be about 50 of us out there. Y'all might be our brothers and sisters. Maybe. That's all Karamo's letting know. You never know.

What do your other siblings think about all this?

Well, some of 'em, a couple of 'em are hurt. And I get that, but we grown now. I know we grown, but you know, sometimes we can't let it go. You grown. You know? You know, and I understand that too. But listen, it's about me. Y'all know who y'all daddy is. I don't. Right.

But if you found that you all are sisters, you're gonna open arms? Yeah, she is. Yeah, she is. I can tell, I can tell, okay. Pat, we're about to meet Venise. And to be clear, you and Venise share the same mom and dad.

Yes, we do.

Okay, so this is your potential sister.

Yes.

Have you ever met her before?

No, can I hug her though? Can I?

Yes, okay.

'Cause that might be my sister.

Well, you've never met her before and she's here today, so everyone please welcome Venise to the show.

Okay. Karamo! Karamo! Karamo! They kept us away from you, so I couldn't see you. Karamo! Karamo! How are you? Hey, Karamo!

How you doing?

I'm good. I'm good.

Thank you for being here.

Yes, sir.

I love y'all energy, seriously. So how do you feel about what was just said?

Let me give my sister flowers while she's sitting here. And I've already told her this before. My father died July 10th, 1987 when I was 5 years old. I was a daddy's girl. I love my daddy. He couldn't go nowhere without Venise. I was always by his side. He took his last breath on this earth in front of me. And this sister here, after my father passed, she cooked for us, she had to do our hair. And if Antonette is our sister, she could have been doing it as well.

Yeah.

Yeah. Because my mother— Had she came out a couple years ago, I wouldn't be so open like I am now. But after I started my own healing journey and process, and as I'm going through that, I'm open and I'm welcoming to her now. And if you are my niece, babe, where you at? Thank you, I appreciate that. If you are my niece, you get your detective skills from me. 'Cause okay, if you my niece, because that's how I am, babe. I'm the detective of the group. So Pat sends me the picture, and one thing about my daddy, all of his children got his nose. We got his nose and his last name. And the thing about when I saw her picture, I was like, oh, mm, okay. I talked to her that day and the first time I was like, oh, we can go to Karamo.

I said Karamo gonna give you your envelope.

Yeah, she did.

She did.

I appreciate that.

I said when it comes to it, I said Karamo gonna give you your envelope and it says your truth to open and therefore that's where we can go. 'Cause I watch you every day. Thank you.

And you look good in person.

You look good in person, Karamo. Thank you.

I appreciate that. I appreciate that.

I appreciate that, thank you. And that's why I contacted you so you can give us truth.

So it looks like we have a ping. It looks like it's from Venise and Pat's sister, Sharon.

Hi, Karamo. I just wanted to say that I don't really care if Antoinette is my sister or not. I have enough siblings and don't need another one. So if it turns out Antoinette is a part of the family, everyone else can welcome her in. I want to stay out of it. Tell Sharon I'm coming to her house. I'm from Detroit and listen, you gonna accept me whether you want to or not. What is it gonna be? Sharon. So there we go.

Period.

As my daughter would say. Period.

Period.

Well, I wanna talk to your daughter Shan for a moment who set all this in motion. How you doing, Shan?

I'm good, how are you?

How do you feel about your 3 minutes on Google got us all here today?

I feel great.

Yeah. Have you seen your mother going through this struggle for a while? And how has it affected y'all?

Yeah, she's been searching for her dad for a while and she's just wanted to know who her dad was and if she had some siblings out there. So I think that she'd be very happy to know the result.

On your mother's side, do you have any siblings?

Yes.

You do have siblings?

Yeah, I got 2 brothers and a sister.

2 brothers and sister. Are you close with them?

Yeah, very close.

Okay, good. But you said earlier there's that missing piece from somebody.

Just that missing piece, yeah.

Understandable. Do you think the results, if they come back that these are her sisters, that it will bring them closer from your opinion?

Yes, I think it'll bring them closer together. And it's no doubt in my mind that that's them are her siblings 'cause she has her dad's nose, she has her dad's eyes. They look just alike to me.

Okay then. Well, thank you for the work you've done to bring us here, but I think it's time to get the DNA truth. In this envelope is the DNA truth you have been waiting 53 years for. Yes, I am. The answers you've been waiting for. And as your sister knows, the thing I say next is, what I say next?

This is your truth to open.

Not mine. So here you go. This is your moment.

You my sister.

Come on down here, Sharon. Sharon, you come on down here with Jamar.

I'm a big old crybaby. I knew I was going to cry anyway.

Congratulations.

My sister. Yay!

When I see her, I'm going to scream. This is your auntie. This is your auntie.

I told you they were good, didn't I?

Take a seat for me, honey.

You get your detective skills from me, okay? I'm telling you.

You can take a seat. You can take a seat.

Yeah. Oh my God.

How are you feeling this moment?

Amazing. Just getting the answers that I've been looking for.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's amazing. Like, now I know who I am. That's it.

Yeah, you know for sure.

Yep.

You know for sure.

This is going on my wall. It's going on my wall. It is. Can I just say this one thing, Karamo? When I went to go take the DNA test, and the man said, well, who are you? I said, I'm the potential sibling. I said, I got the DNA that she wants. And he started to laugh. He said, really? I said, yes. Yes, Dad. And I also want to say this. I'm so sorry that you, even though I only had him for 5 years, I'm so sorry that you didn't get to meet him, 'cause he was an awesome man. He loved his children. If he would've known about you, he probably would've made your mother change your last name and everything. But guess what? He took care of it. You got us now. I got y'all. You got us, and we are all a piece of him. We're sharing it. Okay.

Sharon, if you're watching, you got a new sister whether you like it or not, Sharon. But I will say this, Vaniece, I appreciate you because I could tell you watch my show.

Yes, I do.

Because—

She loves your show.

I appreciate that. Because what I try to do is I also try to help people understand that people need closure and they need that love and they need— And sometimes just giving her, you didn't have to do that.

Nope, she didn't.

Knowing that you just said like, we're glad you're here. If your father was around, he would've wanted you around. You know what I mean? It helps you to know that it wasn't that you weren't wanted. Things happen.

That's all I want, you know? 'Cause all my life I felt like that. You get what I'm saying? So that was my main reason for looking for my father. 'Cause I always had that feeling like, you know, I wasn't wanted.

Yeah. Well, I'm happy that you have your answers and that your sister could give you a bit of that closure. So thank you.

I know, thank you, Karamo. We knew we'd come to the right place.

You came right here.

The right place.

All right, listen, I'm so happy for y'all. Now I'm gonna want some pictures from Christmas dance, okay? All right, friends. Thank you for being with us. Make sure to come back next time, friends, so we keep talking and growing. I love you all.