I've Been Searching For My Father For 34 Years! | KARAMO

I've been looking for my father for my whole life.

Wow.

And it's been a mystery for me since I was a child, like not knowing my identity or where I come from.

What did your mom tell you about the father when you were a kid?

She just told me bits and pieces of him. She did tell me his name, you know, how he looked and stuff like that. And she always used to say I favored him a lot.

So when did she tell you that he was deceased?

When I was about 11 years old.

11 years old, okay. And what was that like for you hearing that out? Because you had never met him and then all of a sudden she says he's dead.

Yeah, it was painful. And I thought that she was fibbing about it because I was always asking.

Yeah.

And I thought she just wanted me to stop asking.

Got it, got it, got it.

So I never, deep down in my heart, I never really believed it.

When did you start looking for him yourself? Like really looking?

After that day.

Okay.

After that day she told me that he passed, I would search through Yellow Pages, White Pages, Searching up every Robertson looking for him.

You too young to know about Yellow Pages, okay?

When you said that, I was like, Yellow Pages?

You know about, okay.

Yes, the big book, the little book.

The little book, okay, yeah, okay.

They had the different ones, I knew.

Yeah, okay.

Did you have any other siblings growing up?

Yes, I did. I have 3 siblings by my mom. We all have different dads. And they all know their dads, so growing up that was a challenge for me not knowing my identity, where I came from.

Makes sense.

And seeing them with their dads or her talk about our dads, and it was just like I always felt I felt left out.

Makes sense, makes sense. So what happened 2 weeks ago?

Oh, 2 weeks ago, me and my mom were actually on the phone. You know, as we were talking about him, I was doing my little secret investigation and stuff on my phone. She gave me the name Marty, but I found out eventually that his name wasn't Marty. So the whole time I've been looking for Marty, and that's why I wasn't coming up with nothing.

What did you find out his name actually was?

Tamar.

Tamar.

Yes.

Okay then. And so while you're on the phone with her, are you searching and did you see a Tamar?

No, actually I came across a guy a guy named Benny, Benny Robertson, and he had a post on there. It said, "Rest in peace to my big bro, Marty." I seen the lady named Tanisha on there, and I'm like, "We kind of favor each other." Yeah. You know, let me click on her profile.

Okay.

So I clicked on her profile, and then I started going through her pictures, you know, doing my little investigation. And I'm like, "Yeah, this could be it." Wow. I started to get excited, emotional. I didn't tell my mom. That I was doing none of this.

Yeah.

And this is just 2 weeks ago?

Yes, 2 weeks ago.

Wow.

So I went from there, I inboxed Tanisha and I said, do you know somebody named Marty? She text me back right away. Like she said, yes, that's my cousin. I asked her, was he light-skinned?

Yeah.

She said, yes, he is light-skinned. Then I asked her, is his mother dark-skinned? Because these are all the details my mother used to give me. So she said, "Yes, he actually passed away in 1999." So I said, "Well, my mom did tell me that he passed away when I was 11, but at 1999, I would've been 9 years old." Got it, okay. Yeah.

So maybe, so that's wrong. So who did Tanisha connect you with?

She told me that I actually had other siblings.

Oh, she did?

Yes.

Okay.

And then she gave me their names. One name was Gwen, and then I inboxed her.

Got it.

Yeah, and I said, "It might be kind of strange or whatever, but I think," We're sisters. Wow. Yes. I asked her, did she have any pictures of him? She got back to me within one day. I sent it to my mom. I said, is this him? Is this my dad? She said, that's him.

Wow. Wow. So when you then connected with his children, what happened? You said, which one did you connect with first?

Gwendolyn.

So Gwen, you spoke with Gwen first. And what did she say when you connected with her? You said, I'm possibly your sister?

Yes, she said you could be. You know, and then she wanted to know what's his name? What do you know him by? You know what she said to ask me. And then I was like, Marty. So when I said that, she was like, yeah. And then she asked me how many kids I have. I asked her the same. And then it was just like kind of silent.

Silent conversation, yeah, okay.

For a second.

Was she raised by him?

I'm not for sure. We didn't go into detail or anything about that because I didn't wanna set off anyone's emotions or get my hopes up. So what I did, I reached out to, went through the internet to see who I could go through. I looked up Maury.

Uh-huh, yeah.

And I said, what about Karamo?

Amen, okay.

I appreciate that. Thank you, I appreciate that.

Listen, like one of the greatest gifts, like when Maury had left his show and we talked about it, was being able to connect families.

Yes.

Because people don't understand how important this is. And when you don't have any resources, you don't know who can call.

Yes.

So thank you for reaching out to us.

Yes.

And so—

I was excited because I didn't think you was gonna call me back.

Yeah, girl, we wanna help people.

We wanna help people, okay?

So you've never met Gwen in person?

Never.

Okay, and how do you feel about meeting her today?

I'm excited, I'm nervous a little bit, you know?

But the last thing you left it on when you all spoke last was just 2 weeks ago was, hey, I could be your sister.

Yeah.

Okay. And all of this happened 2 weeks ago.

2 weeks ago.

Wow, so this is fresh. All right, well everyone, I think it's time to meet your potential sister Gwen. So everyone please welcome Gwen to the show.

Oh my goodness.

How are you doing, Gwen?

I'm good.

You both are beautiful.

Thank you.

You're tearing up.

What's going on in your mind? Here you go, love.

It's just been, I'm excited.

Yeah, I get it.

It's happy tears, but it's still, you know, I still wanna know, you know?

Yeah, I hear that. So how did you feel when Leandra first contacted you?

I was confused.

Yeah.

It threw me completely off. I felt like I already met my siblings. I didn't know anything about her.

Yeah.

It came out the blue.

Yeah.

I went through the same thing. I didn't meet my siblings until I was 33.

Oh wow.

39 now.

Okay.

So I went through all those years knowing I had, I actually knew I had siblings. I just didn't know how to get in contact with them. I didn't know where they were. And once I lost my, I did have a brother by my mom. Once he passed away when he was 18, I just was like, oh my God, I won't have any nieces, nephews. It just made me really wanna meet my siblings after that.

Got it, makes sense.

Yeah, my mom always told me that I had siblings.

Yeah, she always said that.

By my dad.

So it makes sense then why you were open to when she communicated with you because you had just been through the same experience.

Yeah.

Makes sense. So I gotta ask you this, would you like her to be your sister? I know you just said you went on a journey to find family yourself. Would this be your sister?

Absolutely, yes. She looked just like us. She looked just like my dad.

I mean, I've been duped before on this show, so I can't say it's just all the looks.

But when you both smile, y'all have the same exact smile and cheekbones.

It's like, it's identical, right? It's looking at it, yeah.

Okay, are you close with anyone else from your father's side?

I'm close with Tanisha. They pretty much kept me around growing up. I wasn't around him at all, but they kept me around the family, made sure we stayed connected.

Tanisha's the same cousin that you reached out to, correct? Yes. Okay then, so Tanisha's sort of been like a, So I've been in the picture with all of y'all being like, oh, let's connect the dots.

She's the mediator.

She's the mediator, okay. How will you feel if she's not your sister today?

I would feel bad. I would want her to find her dad for sure so that she can connect that piece.

I hear that. Well, Leandra, your mother is here, so I wanna welcome your mother Angela to the show as well. Hi, Angela.

Hello.

How are you doing?

I'm fine, and you?

I'm good. Thank you for being here.

Thank you for having me.

So what did you tell Leandra about her father?

When she started asking about him, I was just like, your dad, you look just like him.

Yeah.

And you have his personality.

So from your perspective, why wasn't he in her life? I know that he's passed away now, but what happened from your view?

We kind of branched off. I was young, teenager.

Got it. Were you two in a relationship at the time?

Yeah, when we first met.

Okay, you were in a relationship. And did he know you were pregnant?

Yeah, he told me.

He told you?

Mm-hmm.

He told you. Wow, that's interesting.

So did he ever meet her?

Yeah, he's seen her.

Yeah.

Yeah, he's seen her.

He did see her. Okay then. I know you said earlier that your mom said that you had other siblings from your dad's side. How did you know that she had other siblings?

He told me, yeah. Oh, he told you, okay then.

Yeah, so it might be other kids out here that we don't know about.

Wow. When did you know that he died and how did you find out?

My daughter.

Your daughter?

Mm-hmm.

Okay. Gwen, was your father in your life at all?

I met my dad maybe once or twice. The last thing I do remember was his funeral. It was '01.

When I was 11.

Yeah, so. Yep.

So you would've been 11.

Yep. And I remember, It was a little boy there that they introduced me to as my brother. So that was my first time knowing him. He was around 7 years old. And I never seen him again until like I was 33.

Wow. And how do you feel when she told you she connected with this man's family?

I feel excited.

Had you tried to reach out to them previously?

No, not previously.

Not previously, okay. Were there other potential fathers at that time?

I've been in other relationships But there's no other potential father for her.

No.

You just know that it would be this man.

Yes.

Yeah, got it. Okay then. All right, so Tanisha, the woman that connected you and your potential sister, is actually here in the audience. Everyone say hello to Tanisha.

Hey, Tanisha.

How are you? It's a smile for me.

It goes through.

So how do you feel when you heard from Leandra?

Oh my goodness, I was totally, I was shocked, I was confused, I was half asleep.

Okay.

And when I saw the message on Facebook, I was like, okay, yeah, I know this person.

Yeah, you know.

This is my cousin.

Yeah.

Who are you? And I looked at her picture and on her Facebook it was just like one picture in a cap and gown.

Yeah.

And I was like, I can't tell. And I was like, well, who was your mother? When was you born?

Okay, yeah.

She asked me questions, we were going back and forth, and I calmed down a little. I said, okay, well, let me tell you what I know.

Yeah.

And you tell me what you know, we can figure it out.

Figure it out, yeah.

Wow, wow, wow. And apparently this is, you were there as well for Gwen, doing the same thing, helping her figure out and like be a part of the family as well.

Well, I had Gwen since she was, A baby, yeah.

So you knew all along.

I've always known Gwen.

Are you close with his, with their other kids, with his other kids?

I am not, no.

You're not, okay then, got it. So do you want her to be a part of your family?

Absolutely. If she is his daughter, I welcome her with open arms.

And just to make sure that your potential father, your father, is your cousin.

He was my first cousin.

First cousin, he's older than you?

Yes.

Okay then, got it. Well, I think it's time to unlock this 34-year-old DNA mystery. 34 years you have been questioning and wondering who is your father. 2 weeks ago you got answers that have led you here. And as I've told everyone before, this is not my truth to open, this is your truth to open. So here you go.

I don't think I'm ready for this.

Yeah.

Girl, you better open that thing wide open. As long as you've been searching.

I don't think I'm ready though.

I wanna let you know this. Whatever's in that envelope, not only do you have your mother here, you have a potential sister here, you have people that are surrounding you by love, but also you have someone who's trained and can help you navigate through whatever emotions you're going through. Going through, okay? So we will be here to support you, okay? Yes.

What does it say?

What does it say?

It says Cleatra. Quinn is your biological sister.

This is your biological sister. Oh my God.

Yes, that's yours.

I'm so happy for you. Here you go, love. Here you go. Come on down here, Tanisha.

Let me help you through.

You finally 2 weeks ago, you helped set this off, OK?

Come on. This is you. You did this.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

I'm so grateful.

You're pretty.

It runs in the family.

Yes, it do. Yes, it do.

And they always ask my daughter, Where is she mixed with? Where is she mixed with? They be asking her too, everywhere.

Never had the answers.

Yeah.

Never had the answers.

Now I got the answers.

You got answers now.

You got answers.

34 years you've been searching, and in 2 weeks you got all the answers.

Mm-hmm.

2 weeks. 2 weeks.

Look at that.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Seriously.

It's helping.

Yeah. It's helping.

You have a sister, a new sister now. A new cousin?

Sister.

Oh, you know what I mean?

Yes.

But also, like you said, you have your answers. What does it feel like to have your answers now?

It feels amazing.

Yeah.

I feel like I could finally be happy with myself. And now I can figure out who I am, where I come from.

Yeah.

Not only just from my mom's side, but my dad's side.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

'Cause I always look different. Yeah.

I look different. I'm the lightest person in my family on my mom's side.

You always get, are you adopted?

No, I got that one. I didn't know I was adopted, but my, my siblings on my mom's side used to tease me and say I was adopted.

God, they would tease you.

Yeah, similar stories in the same way.

Yeah, thank you, Jesus. I'm thankful now that she can enjoy her daddy's side of the family.

Exactly. Family.

I am so excited.

I got to say, I'm thankful that you call the show and that you're allowing us to be a part of your journey.

Well, I watch you all the time.

Thank you, I'm glad.

I'm just so happy that now you have your answers because every kid deserves answers. And you have them now. I'm so happy for you.

Congratulations, y'all.

Oh my goodness.