I Grew Up on the Streets, WHERE Was My Dad?? | KARAMO

Growing up, I felt lost. I didn't feel like I had a lot of love. I needed a dad in my life, and I needed my dad to love on me, so I didn't get that. I turned to the streets. I was in the streets hard. I thought I was a thug, and it just felt comfortable because when you're in the streets, you know, you're getting money, people are doing bad things with you, showing you bad things like it's fun. It's a party. I just— I don't know. I think I was just sweeping all my problems under the rug. Sorry. It's just growing up, like, confused, it really affected me a lot. My mom passed away in 2017, so I thought I would never have the answers. My mom used to tell me the guy off the show New York Undercover was my dad. It was kind of humorous. To me, like I just laughed it off. I don't know what her reasoning was to hide this information from me. When I decided to go on this journey, it was like God directed me to the right family member. He told me that my dad had been looking for me. I messaged Reggie and I got a message maybe not even an hour later. When I first met Reggie's family, I was excited because they're all really nice people. They were all very inviting. I just wasn't, you know, I wouldn't say jealous, but I did see that my life could have been better if I had my father in my life. I know my life would have been different.

What if it comes back that he is not your father?

I really don't know. I know my feelings is going to be hurt, but at least I don't have to live without knowing to that if he is my dad or not.

Listen everyone, we will meet Ivory a little later in the show, but first help me welcome Ivory's potential father Reggie to the show to hear his side of the story. Reggie, how you doing, sir?

Good, sir.

Good to meet you. So did you know about her at all?

I didn't know. Yeah. I was on my way home from work one day. There was a car maybe about 100 yards ahead of me and I could see a little head sticking out of the back window. And as I got closer, I said, "Oh my God, that kid looks like me." And she waved, so I waved back. And it got closer and my heart literally dropped outta my body, right? So as I got perpendicular with her mom's car, I saw it was her mom driving and I blew the horn and she looked over and she says, And she said, "Follow me, I need to tell you something." So I said, "Oh wow." So we go to her mom's house and I'm looking at this kid and I just know this is my daughter. I just know it. And she's about 3 years old and I said to her mom, I said, "Is this my baby?" She says, "No, I'm getting married." But her voice wasn't normal. It was a little low, like she was shielding the truth from her mom. Yeah. Who was there, Ivory's grandmother. And so I said, well, can I please give her a hug? And she says, yeah. So I kneeled down and I gave her a big hug, but I instantly felt the connection, man. Yeah. I felt the connection and I got up and I looked at her and I said, you're so pretty. And I looked at her mom again, I looked at her grandmother and I just walked away. I went to my car and I called my wife, who was my fiancée at the time, and I said, I think I have a child. I think I have a daughter.

Wow.

So I got home and I told her the story, how everything happened. And we went on this journey of searching, not necessarily searching for her, but searching for the truth.

So when you say you were searching for the truth but not her, why didn't you search for her? If you had this gut feeling, why not try to find her?

Well, they left. They, lost contact with them. And I didn't have any outlet to reach out and find them. I couldn't find it until Facebook. I knew it was Ivory, but I didn't know how to spell it. I didn't know her last name. I knew, I looked up every combination I could come up with. Never was successful.

Got it. Did you know anything, or when did you find out about the childhood that Ivory had?

When she told me.

When she told you. And how did you feel when you heard that?

I was brokenhearted. The type of guy that I am, the type of guy that I pride myself on is I'm a good husband and a good father. And I, I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be everything for her, as I am for the rest of my kids. I just wanted to give her everything that I could. I didn't know what she was experiencing, what she was going through, but when I did connect with a family member of hers, an uncle, he said, "You know, man," 'cause I asked about her. He said, "You know." And I said, "So she's mine?" And he says, "You know." Just like that. I said, "Well, I need you to help me find her, reach out to her." He says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. That's not a good idea." So I wasn't sure, was he talking about maybe her life was so great that—

That he didn't want you to ruin it.

Interfere with that. Or she would reject me and make things worse for her. Another couple years passed and my wife and I were relaxing and I was sitting there on my iPad and I got a Facebook message. And I looked at it and I looked again. I said, "Baby." She says, "What?" I said, "Here we go." She says, "What?" And I showed it to her and she began to cry and I began to cry. She asked, "Did I know her mom?" I said, "Yeah, we were friends a while, a long time ago." She says, "Well, I think you may be my dad." And so she asked, could she call me? I said, "Why don't you FaceTime me?" And when she FaceTimed me, I got a chance to see the resemblance, see her face, but also meet her kids. And that moment I fell in love with them.

Oh, I did. [Speaker:KARAMO] Oh, that's amazing.

[APPLAUSE] That's beautiful.

So I heard you just say that you and her mother was friends. Did you have a relationship with her mother at all?

It was a cordial friendship. I was actually friends with her brothers and her uncle.

Okay.

And her mom was just part of the crew.

Yeah.

And so we were just friends. And as we grew older, you know, things kind of changed. So we were intimate once. Oh, so this is a one-time intimate. Just once, and then we lost touch.

Yeah. How many other kids do you have?

5 others.

5 other kids.

And— 4 boys and another girl.

And how did they react to the situation?

Situation? Well, a few of them were, they embraced it, but still kind of not so fully embracing it, not so fully involved or invested. Two of them, the older two, were a little bit more protective of my feelings. So they didn't accept it completely.

Makes sense.

But I talked to one of them last night and he told me some things that really, really, really helped me accept the fact that this is happening, this is real, and they are on board.

Got it, okay. When did she first hit you up with the message?

This was in January of 2020, right before the COVID lockdown.

Okay then, so it's been about 5 years since you— Where would Ivory fall in the spot of your kids?

She's the oldest.

She'd be the oldest?

Yes.

Okay then. And how will you feel if she is not your daughter?

I'd be broken. It would really hurt. I think I could grow, but it doesn't matter what the results are. I'll tell you this today, she's always gonna be my daughter.

Got it, okay. Yeah. And since this happened in 2020, have you two met in person?

Yeah.

And how has that been since you've met in person?

It's been amazing. We flew out, my wife and my youngest son, we flew out to meet her and the kids. I think this was probably around October of that year of 2020. And it was amazing. But the only thing, Karamo, I'll say, the only thing that really, really, really stood out to me in a negative sense, that I never really got that hug from her. That father-daughter hug. And I think she needed it so much, but I needed it also because for the first 30 years of her life, I wasn't there. And I told her, I said, for the first 30, I wasn't here, but the rest of your life, the rest of my life, we're gonna be together.

Amazing.

All right.

Well, I think it's time for all of us to meet Ivory. So Ivory, come on out.

Hi, honey. How you doing?

Thank you.

Hi, Ivory, how are you doing? Let me give you a little hug too. Sorry, how you doing?

Good, nice to meet you.

Yes.

So Ivory, hearing your story, what was it like for you growing up without a father?

It was hard not feeling a part of the family that I did grow up with, thinking that I had another father. I had a lot of clues. Growing up, my mom used to say things, just funny little things like the guy off of the show New York Undercover, she used to tell me that was my dad. And then I remember times after they would fight, she'd be like, "That's not your dad." So yeah, it was very confusing.

[Speaker] Wow, okay. The funny part is, not to share this, but there is a woman that I met and I met her child. Her child was like, "Mama tells me every day you my daddy." And I was like, I was like, hold on now, hold on. So it was interesting when you said that, 'cause I thought no one else have ever been through that. So when you said that your mother said that. So how did you find out about Reggie?

I found out about Reggie through my cousin. I said, do you know if I have another dad or not? He was like, as a matter of fact, you do. I thought it was a joke. I'm like, you found somebody I look just alike, right? And so when I messaged Reggie, You know, like he told you guys, he reached back out to me and then we had that FaceTime call and it was just, everything was very natural. The family is really, really sweet. I love everybody.

Reggie, your wife Tammy and son Devin are here in the audience. Can y'all stand for me?

Uh-oh.

So Tammy, I gotta start with you because you are You were there from the beginning. Y'all were engaged and he came home and said, I think I might have a child. Do you remember that moment?

I do.

He came, he was really distraught because he's a very passionate person.

Yes.

He is. And he was like, I think I have a daughter, but she told me that it's not mine. And that really bothered him ever since. He may not have talked about it all the time, but I know he thought about it whenever we went back home and went to that neighborhood, we would always talk about it.

Devin, how has this affected your father from your point of view?

We talk about it a lot, honestly. And one thing that really stood out to me is when he said that ever since he first saw her and first met her, that he felt a hole in his heart. And now that they finally reconnected, it's filling that void. And I see that every day, every time they talk. It's just all smiles, it's love. And that's one thing that made me be so willing to accept the fact that this could be my sister. Is that how I see it's affecting him? And even just, you know, yeah, yeah.

[Speaker:KARAMO] Yeah, wow. How about your other siblings? How did they react?

[Speaker] You know, everybody has their own personal problems as well. So it's like that shock factor of like learning that this could be, it'll hit everybody differently, right? So not everybody was as willing to accept the fact or be embracing. But I see over time, and I know that this will help us get over that hump.

Yeah, yeah, I get that. I hear that. I think it's time to solve this 35-year-old DNA mystery. Yes!

Yes!

Ivory, will you come with me?

Okay.

Yeah.

All right, Ivory. In this envelope is the DNA truth that you have waited 35 years for. You have searched for your family. You have wondered who your father is. You met someone in 2020 and you have had a relationship, but you never knew the exact truth. This is your truth to open, not mine.

Oh my God. This is about to change everything. You ready?

Yeah. Can I just stand by her?

Yes, you may. Okay.

I'm sorry, y'all. This is real. You ready?

I'm ready.

We got this.

Wait.

Oh my gosh. All right, Jesus.

Yeah!

Yeah, it's for real.

It's real. Yeah, it's for real.

Read it.

Here's what I read. Reggie is your biological father.

It says Reggie is your biological father. This is my baby.

Oh my God.

Thank you. Oh my God. Thank you so much.

You are so welcome. You got me over here crying, okay?

Thank you. I love you.

I love you too, and I'm so thankful. I'm gonna tell you this. You have spent 35 years and you didn't get all the love you deserved, but I'm a big believer that you needed those lessons. We might not know why, Yes. But there's a reason. You're going to give back to somebody else. It's going to make you stronger. There's something you're going to achieve that's even greater than what you can imagine. And we all bless that and pray that over your life right now.

Thank you.

And we know that this is one of the first steps and keys to you achieving that greatness. You have your father now. You no longer have to worry about not being loved, no longer have to worry about not being safe, no longer have to worry about not being secure. You hear me? This is your moment. You got it now.

You got it now. All right.