Do We Share The Same Father? | KARAMO

Who were you raised to believe was your father?

Leon, Leon Orris, yeah.

So you were told that Leon was your father?

Yes, all my life.

And what happened in Alabama when you were 21?

I went down for my great-grandmother's funeral and after the repass at her house, me and a couple of my cousins, we decided we was gonna go to the bar. And right away I noticed this gentleman sitting directly across from me at another table. And he's staring at me. About 20 minutes later, I still realized he was still sitting in the same spot, still staring at me. And so I asked my cousin like, "Who is this man over here? He's just staring at me." And she looked and she was like, "Oh, that's supposed to be your father." And at this time I'm 21 years old.

[Speaker:KARAMO] Yeah, 21 years old.

[Speaker] Yeah.

[Speaker:KARAMO] And what did your mom tell you about your father?

[Speaker] When I got back to New York, I went to question her and she was like, "Oh, don't pay her any attention. You know, she's lying. She don't know what she's talking about. Leon's your father." And that was it. I brought it up to her again 'cause at this time she was really sick. She was in the hospital. You know, she sort of got agitated. "Oh, Leon, Orson's your father. I don't wanna talk about it. I'm not talking about it anymore. That's it." Some months after she passed away, I got in touch with this other gentleman And we talked for a while and I asked him, you know, well, what did my mother say to you? And he said that he had spoken with her right before she passed away and she told him that I was his daughter.

Wow.

Wow.

Well, that makes sense why you'd have doubts about Leon.

Right.

Because if your mother has told this other man directly to him, this is your daughter.

That I was his child, yes. Wow.

So after all these years, why are you now wanting a DNA test?

Well, at first it was, it had a lot to do with my grandmother, Leon's mom. She was still alive at the time and her and my mother's mother, they raised me pretty much. And I didn't wanna hurt her. I didn't wanna go down that road with her. So I held onto it. For years, I told no one.

Yeah.

And over the years it's been like, you know, like right here.

Yeah, of course it has.

And nagging me and nagging me. Of course. So, thank you. I had talked with one of my relatives that's in Alabama and so she set out to seek this other gentleman.

Yeah.

And then that's when we had, I had connected with him and I, was, you know, on the phone with him for a while. We talked for a while.

Was Leon in your life at all?

Periodically.

Periodically.

Yeah, there was some times where, a lot of times where he wasn't there. In and outta jail. And if he wasn't in jail, he was in the streets.

When was the last time you saw him?

It has to be in about '07. Since 20, I wanna say 2006.

Oh, 2006.

Yeah.

So it's been quite some time.

Yeah.

Have you tried to have a relationship with Leon?

I feel like I've done, I've been trying to have a relationship with him all of my life. So it got to the point to where now where he decided not to be there. I've just completely decided not to give him any more of my energy.

Got it, yeah. Well, I think it's time to hear your potential dad's side of the story. So everyone, please welcome Leon to the show. Hey Leon, thank you for being here.

How are you?

I'm good, thank you. How do you feel about what she just said?

Very strong words. How are you?

I'm good.

I just wanted to know is when she found out that I wasn't her father, why didn't she tell me? And she held it to, I didn't know, she held it to herself. She was in her 20s when she found out.

Mm-hmm.

And she never said anything.

So she can't understand You can't understand that, especially since you just said that you've been in and outta her life. If she found out the information, why would she feel comfortable in telling you if you've been in and outta her life?

I don't know. I have no idea.

For me, it was more protecting my grandmother's feelings at that time.

From what you heard, do you question if Felicia is your daughter?

At first I had suspicions. 'cause she didn't look like anybody in the family. But I accepted her as my daughter. I was 16 years old when she was born. I just took her mother as her word that I was the father.

Yeah. So she said earlier that you were in and out of her life. From your perspective, were you in and out of her life?

Yes, I was in and out of all my kids' life. I was a criminal at the time.

Yeah.

I ran the streets, I was in jail, in and outta jail. At 16, I was just coming into my own as being a criminal, learning all this stuff. Her mother came down to the park where I hung out with my friends. We hooked up at a party. That was it.

That was it.

That was it. She didn't say anything else. She left out a lot of stuff. Like she did tell me she went to Alabama to visit her father. She did tell me that, but she left out the part that she had met a guy, had sex, and was pregnant. 'Cause she was pregnant already when we met. When she walked through that park, she was already pregnant. So—

Is what you're calculating the math to be?

Yes.

How does it make you feel to know that she might have been with another man?

Oh, I didn't have no—

And that another man might be her father?

I didn't have any feelings at all at that. At that time, 'cause I accepted her as my daughter. That's all I did.

So why haven't you spoken with her in a decade?

We just lost touch.

Do you want a better relationship with her?

I would like to. She's always gonna be my daughter to me, no matter what happens. I changed her diapers. I went to her graduation when she graduated from high school. She has a scar right here. I sat with her when I found out that she got hurt. I walked her down the aisle when she got married. I'm not gonna give up though, just because she told me I'm not her father. I'm not gonna dismiss that. Now, if she doesn't want me, if she doesn't wanna accept me as a father, isn't her father, that's fine. That's on her.

Got it. If she is found to be your daughter today, are you willing to do whatever she needs to do to make up for the lost time and to heal the pain that she has in her?

Sure. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Do you hear that?

Mm-hmm.

Are you willing to be open to it if he is your father?

I don't know. It's hard to say.

Yeah, I get it.

Because like I said, I've always been, In and outta my life for one reason or another.

Yeah.

You know, and you can't, I'm to the point now where I'm not gonna let you pick and choose when you're gonna be in my life. I got kids, I got a grandchild now.

Yeah, I hear that.

I respect that.

And if you wanna be in my life, you gonna have to, it's a package.

Well, Felicia, we have your sister Toya here in the audience today. Toya, are you here?

Yep, I'm here.

How you doing?

I'm good, how are you?

So Toya, what are your thoughts on this situation?

I feel it's long overdue.

Something that, you know, for her to get the closure is great. I recently just found out this was even a question. So, and we share the same mother, so she never told me that this was a possibility. But now that I know, I feel like this is a great step for her to get the closure that she needs.

Do you think Leon is her father?

Possibly.

I don't really feel he would be. My mother was wild back in the day, so the possibility is there or not. Maybe, maybe not.

Was Leon in your life at all?

No.

Did he raise you at all? Do you know him?

No. I don't know him.

No? Okay, got it. Okay, so you really don't know this man either?

No, I don't have any relationship with him. My first memory of seeing him was at her wedding.

Got it.

And we didn't get raised together, so.

Got it.

I thought the relationship was good. This is all a surprise to me as well as him.

See, there's actually, 6 of us, of his kids. I'm the oldest. And they seem to think because I was with his mom, I was with him.

Him, yeah, that you were close.

But that wasn't so the case. Like, I would be at her house and most of the time he wasn't even there.

Makes sense, yeah. Toya, I just wanna say thank you for your insight. I appreciate that.

Thank you.

So I think it's time to hear from your potential sister. Gigi. So let's welcome Gigi to the show. Hello, Gigi. How are you doing?

Hi.

What did your mom tell you about Leon?

Nothing.

Nothing. Okay.

I didn't know anything about Leon until I was 15 when he found me.

Okay, and how did he track you down?

So I had an uncle who passed who was with a woman that had two daughters, my cousins. And in the midst of, I guess, conversation, I find out that he actually was friends with her when they were younger and they ran upon each other. He went to her house, they started talking, and my maiden name came up. And at that point is when she said, "That's my children's cousin. If we're talking about the same person, Gigi, yeah, I know who she is." Did your mom hide you from him? Yeah, she never told me his name. I knew nothing about him. Nothing. Every time I would ask, she said, "What do you need to know that for?" So why don't you believe that you're his daughter? I just don't know.

Speculative.

It's this old saying, right? Mama's baby, daddy's maybe. You just, you really just don't know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was he in your life at all?

Off and on. We first met, we spent time. I was in school and he kept my oldest son at the time when he was a baby and his grandmother. And so I could finish school while I was working full-time. Then he ended up moving to Colorado as he said. So of course the distance made it hard, But when I got older, I was in a relationship with a woman that I guess he didn't care for, which that kind of, we fell out after that.

Got it, okay.

And so a little bit back and forth. As I've gotten older, he and I have formulated a better relationship.

You were raised as an only child basically.

Yes, only child.

So how did it feel to know that you might have an older sister?

That was the best thing to me.

Yeah, uh-huh.

Yeah, me and her hit it off right away.

Yeah, right away?

Right away.

Yeah. How old were you when you started a relationship with Felicia?

I was 15.

15.

Yeah, 15. She became my best friend.

Yeah, I was about 16, 17.

And I was going to her house. We were doing a lot of things together. She, when I had my son at 18, you couldn't have told me that wasn't her child.

Yeah.

That was my baby.

So Felicia and Gigi, I think it's time to solve this DNA truth and get this out here. So in this envelope is the DNA truth you have been questioning, especially for you, Gigi, since you were 15 years old. This is not my truth to open. This is yours. So here you go.

You are— It's okay.

It's okay.

Wow, that's beautiful. You have your answers right now, yeah?

Yes.

Felicia, it is your turn for answers. In this envelope is the DNA truth you've waited for as well. It's not my truth to open, it's yours.

I don't know how I feel about it.

Yeah.

It's a lot.

Yeah.

Sis, it does not matter what is in that envelope. You will always be my sister.

I want you to know that. I can open it now?

Yes, you can, whenever you'd like.

Oh God.

What's this say?

This is Leon.

It's your biological father.

I love you, but she's not going to accept me.

Just go.

Just go.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I am so sorry. I just want to say this to all my kids. I am so sorry if I hurt you. I am so, so sorry. It wasn't my intentions to hurt any of you.

One of the things I have to say to you, sir, is what I appreciate is your apology. Apology, but I will tell you that even with these answers, there's more work to be done. And I'll tell you one of the things, 'cause I can tell you're willing to do the work. That apology let me know that you're willing to do it. But I'll tell you that within that job that you felt that you've done, another job is to make sure your kids always feel safe and secure. And so I would encourage you to individually, in their own time, when they're ready, if they're open to it, to have those conversations and give them that closure and the security they deserve. The fact that she's willing to sit on the stage across from you means that the door's not fully shut, but you gotta do a lot of extra work. But I do wish you all the best of luck, and I'm glad you have your answers. I really do. I'm glad you have your answers.