Is The Maintenance Man My Father?! | KARAMO

What was your first encounter with the maintenance man?

My first encounter with the maintenance man was, who is this man?

Yeah.

And I'm outside playing, 12 years old, and the maintenance truck pulls up.

Yeah.

And he gets out the car, tall man.

Yeah.

And he says, I'm your father. And I'm looking like, you my father?

Yeah.

And he said, "Yes, I'm your father." So I, you know, being a little girl, I just went on about my business and continued to play.

Yeah, of course.

So, couple of days later, he comes again, the same old man in his truck, and gets out and say, "I'm your father, but now I want you to go home and meet your potential sister." Oh, wow. So, I met her sister and her siblings, And we became like really, really family.

Oh, wow, okay.

Really family.

Was there a possibility that any other man could have been your father?

There was a possibility another man being my father. He was listed on my birth certificate, so that's why I'm here today, Karamo, to find out.

Wow, how did you find out about your potential sisters, Tonya and Mary?

So he came and he took me to his house.

Uh-huh.

I didn't meet Tonya at the same time that I met Mary.

Yeah.

Me and Tanya was very, very close. We were—

Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.

Isn't we beautiful?

Yes, adorable. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. So that's the moment you met her?

That's the moment I met Tanya. And maybe a year or so later, here comes I got another child I want you to meet. Oh. And so I'm looking like another child?

Yeah.

So then I met Mary at our grandmother's house. Wow.

Okay. Was there another rumor about the maintenance man going around?

There was another rumor about the maintenance man. He not only had my mom and Tonya's mom, he had about 10 other women. Wow. 10 other women.

Wow.

That he was taking care of.

Oh my gosh. Okay. And you told my producers that Tonya doesn't believe you share the same father?

I really don't believe she believes that her and I are sisters. Mm-hmm. Our relationship is not as close as it used to be. It's like, I feel like it's fake love.

Fake love?

Yes, that's what I said, fake love.

How was it fake love when you was included? Karamo, can you pull that obituary back up?

Yeah.

I specifically made out this obituary. I was introduced of you being my sister, So you was included.

Show me the proof of that.

This is the proof right here.

Okay. Okay.

So you were included, okay then. Tanya, what do you have to say about what you heard?

I want her to tell me how she feels about me without really telling me how she feels about me. Because all of these years when my daddy introduced me to them as my sister, I've accepted her as my sister. I just turned 51 last week.

Fake love.

I just turned 51 last week. So all of these years, This has been my sister. So to come out now with these questions and my dad has been dead for 20 years, this is crazy to me.

Yeah.

This is like, let him rest.

Mm-hmm. So from your perspective, you're like, I've accepted you my sister, we are sisters, we all know it, we don't need all of this.

We don't, why?

She doesn't believe, she actually, Karamo, doesn't believe that Mary and I are sisters. We never get included in anything. You always include—

You even include other people before you include me. First of all, if you don't feel like my daddy— 'Cause I don't have any questions. I know that's my daddy.

The maintenance man—

How do you know that's your daddy?

That's my daddy.

You know that's your daddy?

He married my mom. He was in the household with me. I know that's my daddy. You have the questions.

I do. And how do you know that's your daddy?

I know that's my daddy. I know that's my daddy. His name is on my birth certificate. You don't know 'cause he's not on yours. He's not on yours.

And you're exactly right.

My daddy signed my birth certificate.

He was so banked, his name.

That is signed, sealed, delivered.

He was banked, his name.

That's okay. Daddy got around.

He did.

Daddy got around. Listen.

Wherever Daddy laid his head was his home.

My daddy got around. I can say he got around and he was that person. But guess what? At the end of the day, he was in the household with me, he took care of me. What you didn't get from him, that's not my problem.

And you're right.

That's not my problem.

But guess what? I went on with my life.

Apparently not.

I definitely want to find out if this is my father and this is not my father. You can poof and be gone.

Okay. Clock that.

Clock it, Tink.

Make sure you stand on that, okay? Definitely will. Make sure you stand on that.

I definitely will.

Did your mothers get along?

Not at all.

No.

And that's why I think—

But I think it's because my daddy married my mom. My problem is my dad and my mom are gone. Neither of them have the opportunity to address this whole issue of possibly not being— And my mom took care of Tracy.

Oh.

At one point Tracy stayed with us.

Oh, okay.

So my mom also accepted her as her child.

But then later on in our— Me living with her, That's when I started feeling like the love was not real.

The love wasn't real? But you wasn't getting it at your home, apparently.

I definitely was not getting it at my home.

So you wasn't getting it at your home, so my mom brought you in and showed you love.

But guess what, your mama treated me just like what she was, a stepmama.

How was that? How so?

A lot of times she didn't even show me love. A lot of times she would walk around the house and wouldn't even speak to me. We in the same house and you don't even speak to me.

You should have done the right thing, which was exit stage left.

That's what I did.

I think she has some sort of jealousy towards me. Jealous? I heard that she told somebody, "Uh-oh, baby, you can sit down." Look at this, jealous? Have a seat. Jealous? Jealous?

What make you think I'm jealous?

Jealous.

Jealous?

I don't have a problem. With who I am. My daddy was in the household with me. My daddy instilled in me the kind of woman that I am, the woman that he brought up, and I walk in that. Now, if you have any insecurities about yourself, you gotta take that off yourself.

Or talk to Karamo, 'cause you talking to the wrong one about it. Then go house to house in the project and mess up home, go from home to home Having babies.

Well, listen, Tracy.

Wherever he laid his hat was his home.

Tracy and Tonya's other potential sister, Mary, is here. So everyone, welcome Mary to the show. So Mary, what's your experience with the maintenance man growing up as a kid?

My experience wasn't good at all. Uh-huh. I didn't even know who he was. I wound up going to Florida and one of my aunts came out and she asked me, How would I feel if I had two dads? I only know one dad.

Mm-hmm.

And that's the man that took care of me.

Yeah.

That was in Florida. While I'm coming back to Chicago, I didn't know who this person was that was coming up and down the street when I stand there to catch my bus to get ready to go to school. The man in the latest hat with the latest outfit. He was in a brown car.

Stop with that.

He was in a brown car, and he would come by every morning.

You just don't want to hear the truth, do you?

Every morning. So—

That's what he was, a hoe.

He constantly kept doing that, so I just decided, you know, okay, I don't know what's going on. So I'm thinking that this man is trying to, you know, talk to me.

Yeah.

Really?

You know, yes.

Yes.

That's not okay. I am thinking that this man is trying to talk to me. I'm not knowing who he is. Wow.

Yeah. 'Cause how old were you at this point?

Probably no more than about 12, 11, 12, if I'm not mistaken.

So you got questions about him being your dad as well?

I have. Plenty of questions about this man.

Well, why is it just coming out now? That Daddy has been gone for 20 years.

But the thing is that—

First of all, we don't have a relationship with Steve.

And she stayed with my mom. My mom took her in.

But the thing is, I got treated like an outsider when I stayed with your mom too. All of y'all treated me like an outsider.

Well, apparently you are an outsider. And I've been an outsider.

And I've been an outsider, and you know what?

But that's okay.

Deep down in my heart, I'm good with that. Apparently not.

I am good.

Apparently not.

I am.

You know, it really hurts that we're up here on this stage and having to do this. It really hurts me.

Stop with those tears.

It really—

stop with those tears. These are real tears.

Do you feel like you were made the villain in the family?

Yes, I always felt like that. My upsetting is, is that I always felt like Didn't, I did not even care. Even when it came to her mom. Yes, your mom.

Your mom.

My mother.

The same one that you just attended my mom's funeral 2 months ago. Yes, and I did.

And she was your mom.

But now she's my mom.

Thank you.

Okay, well you could have kept the fake support.

That wasn't fake.

Not from my half, it wasn't.

It wasn't fake.

She just came here and said, yes, your mom. Your mom. Tell me that ain't fake.

It was your mom.

Okay.

But it was my stepmom.

And we were treated just like nothing.

And we was treated like nothing.

I don't have an answer for why y'all feel like my mom treated y'all some type of way. But you know what it is. You know what it is. I don't have an answer for that.

You know what it is.

I know how my mom treated me. I know how my mom treated me. I know that my mom was there for me. I know that my dad was there for me.

And you know how your mom treated us.

You stayed with us. It doesn't matter.

You stayed with us.

So get your shit together and get out on your own.

Bitch, I'm already on my own. I've been on my own for years. In my case— But what was you?

There with my mom.

To all of you, what if the results come back that you're not related?

In my case, Like I said earlier, if we're not related, I don't want a relationship with her.

Cool.

I don't.

Clock it.

But if we are, I want a better relationship.

Clock it.

Clock it.

I care less.

I'm good.

You care less.

I care less.

I'm good.

Whether we're sisters or not, I still love her. But it's not gonna make me stop going to bed at night, getting my rest.

It's not.

Tracy and Mary, do you two get along?

Yes.

We get along real good.

You get along? You get along real good. Okay then. What I'm realizing is two things right here before we get to this truth is first, I'm sorry 'cause you're grieving and as you're grieving, I understand why you're so defensive. A lot of the things that have happened here is because of the fact of the relationship that you had with adults as children. And your relationship was a good one. And so you're grieving. And so you feel in defense mode. I gotta feel, I'm gonna defend my mother. I'm gonna defend my father.

Absolutely.

And I understand that. And that's compounded, especially when you're grieving of like, why now? You know, I'm hurting. But at the same rate, as much as I want them to understand that you're hurting right now and that's why you're in defense, I want you to hopefully understand that though you had a good experience, they're trying to just say, "Sister, we didn't have it." And I know that's hard for you to see because you felt like they were good, they were there, they loved. And I've seen this before where someone takes someone in, and I'm not saying this would happen because I was not there. I can only hear each of your experiences. But I've seen it before where someone takes in a child and they have another child that's biologically theirs. And the child they take in, though you're there and though I'm feeding you, doesn't feel wanted or doesn't feel loved. And that can translate into, well, why am I even here? But then from your perspective, you're like, well, no, my mother loved you. She took you in. And so I think sometimes it's about understanding that we all have different experiences, even though we could have been in the same damn place. And I think that's what's happening here. But I think, Also within that, if you can understand their experiences, I hope you all can understand that her defensiveness, she was just a child that heard what she needed to hear. She's also the baby. And also right now she's gonna defend. She's gonna defend wholeheartedly because her mother just passed. So I think we start with you. Come with me. Tracy, in this envelope, is your truth. You have questioned because of the treatment you had if the maintenance man was your father. In this envelope is your truth to open.

We are sisters!

We are sisters!

What does it say?

Tracy, Tanya is your biological sister.

So you confirm Tanya is your sister?

Tanya is my biological sister.

Mary, this is for you as well. Again, in this envelope is your truth to open as well.

Wow.

I know this is hard because I can hear from your experience that you as well had an experience where you didn't feel wanted or feel loved and you felt questioned if this man was your father. This envelope is your truth. Good luck, okay?

I just want y'all to know I do love y'all. But this has to happen. Got to get some type of closure in our lives. Okay? Mary Tanya is your biological sister.

Now we can move on.

Can we move on? Do you see this? It shows.

Y'all had the questions, I didn't.

Yes, we had to have the questions.

You don't see it again, I say you don't know if that's your father. I do. Did you get one of those?

You don't have the right to question that. Your question was answered.

I got it, I got it.

At the end of the day, I'm just upset that it had to take so long. Like, my mama's not even cold in the ground yet, you know? And for this to come up now, you know?

I know it's hard. I will say this one thing that I've also noticed is that because of the decisions of adults, You all made each other the villains. And what y'all gotta remember is that none of y'all are villains. Y'all were just children from a man who unfortunately made irresponsible decisions. And I think y'all gotta remember, and anytime y'all feel this way, y'all gotta remember, this was not our battle to ever fight. This was never our issue to have with each other. The feelings that we had, it just started compounding and rolling up because of a, Adults. But what I am happy about is that y'all have your answers now.

Yes.

You know that for sure you're sisters. And I ask only one thing of each of you, is just to remember that everyone has had a different experience. And when they say their story, say, "Sister, I believe you." That was your experience. And if you can do that, you'll start hearing each other. I'm glad you got your answer.

Answers.

Do you all want to be sisters? I'm gonna let you answer this now.

I do want them to be my sister. Okay.