Locked Up For 26 Years, Are You My Daughter? | KARAMO

I know Diamond is my daughter. I've been searching for her for 33 years. I love Diamond's mother, Vanessa. I was young and I was going through a lot, but she was always there for me. Last time I saw her was 1990. Vanessa was 3 months pregnant and I was very excited to have my first daughter. I was arrested unexpectedly one day and I never saw her again. I was incarcerated for 26 years and I thought about Diamond every day of my life. I never gave up on her, put it like that. I never gave up on her, trying to find her, never. Well, I think she look just like me. She has a lot of features of me. I know I'm Diamond's father. I know I can feel it in my bones, in my heart, my soul. I want the results for Diamond because it can clear her mind because I know she's unsure. That's my beautiful daughter. I always wanted to know Daddy's home now.

Wow.

All right, well today we'll try and solve this DNA mystery. So everyone, please welcome Diamond to the show to hear her side of the story. Well, first of all, welcome. Thank you for being here.

Oh. Welcome.

Hi. So glad to meet you.

You too.

So when Andre in the clip said he just wants to be your father, your beautiful girl, you made a face. What was that about? So, 'cause I wanna know how you're feeling about what you just heard. Clearly you had a reaction.

I didn't think he felt, honestly, I never thought he, I never really knew how he felt. He always just paraded around like, that's my daughter. I know that's my daughter, but I ain't never heard.

You've never felt, heard him be this emotional and open? Yeah, no.

Got it.

Why do you think he's never been this vulnerable with you? Why?

Because, you know, being incarcerated that long and to come out to a daughter that's supposed to be as old as I am, you know, he probably really don't know how to really connect with me on that level. So I just felt like that's maybe why.

Okay. How did you meet Andre?

Pretty much I met him, his wife reached out to me. She saw me on my mother's Facebook page. She passed away, so I was writing rest in peace. And he ended up, well, his wife wrote me and basically said, Hi, you know, you have a father out here. He's been looking for you for umpteen years. And I'm like, what father? You know, like what father? I already have a father. My father signed my birth certificate. You know, who are you? You know, who sent you? Where you come from?

So the man who signed your birth certificate, you thought he was biological father? Your biological father?

Well, he was told that's who been my dad since I've been running around, you know?

Wow. Yeah. So you never grew up thinking like there could be another man out there? Karamo. Got it. And how was your relationship with your mother before she, you said she passed?

Yeah.

Sorry about that. But how was your relationship with her before she passed?

Pretty much the relationship. Oh no, no, no. I do not wanna cry. So basically the relationship was so-so. So-so.

Okay.

It was so-so. She treated me as if like, you know, a man just did it wrong, you know? So. Okay.

So she took out what happened in her childhood on you? And her passing. Okay. Okay. Did she ever mention Andre before she passed? Here you go.

No.

I'm sorry.

Yeah, I've heard of him as a kid growing up. I've heard the name Puna, they call him, that's his nickname. So Andre, you know, pretty much, you know, I never heard Andre. So when his wife reached out and said Puna, I'm like, hmm. So you know, that's what made us start connecting and talking, like me reaching out.

And so the man that, thought he was your father, was he in your life? Was he a father figure?

No, he's never been in my life even though he lived literally across the street. Like— To this day? To this day.

And that was the man that was told it was your father?

Yeah.

Do you have any doubts?

Yeah, I do.

Just a little bit?

I really, really hope that he is my dad.

Yeah.

But—

Yeah. And why do you hope that? It's all right, you okay.

Because I just wanna belong.

You wanna belong?

I just wanna belong to a family, you know? 'Cause I don't have anybody. Like my mom left, my granny's gone, it's just me, you know? So why not have a dad, you know? And then he act like he wanna be there, so it's like.

Why not? Yeah, I understand that. Yeah. Well, I think it's time to hear Andre's side of this story. Your potential father. So everyone, please welcome Andre to the show. How you doing?

Told y'all I was gonna cry.

How you doing, Andre? Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, sir. Yeah.

You all right?

No.

No? So how do you feel about what you just heard so far?

Well, I feel like she entitled to the way she feel. Like she never knew that I existed. I know she my baby.

Man, see, he lying.

I know she mine.

After all these years, how did you find out, man?

I had a little sister from my woman and she, looked her up. I was amazed. I was like, she on my birthday. It was very— it was a good time.

What year was this?

Uh, 2021.

Yes, 2021.

Yes. So that was my birthday.

It was your birthday.

So there's been years that you two have been communicating and building some sort of a relationship?

Yeah, yeah, trying to. We've been trying. We've been trying.

She said earlier that she feels like, um, you haven't been able showed that vulnerability that you showed in the tape. Why have you been closed off? Do you have doubts?

No, no, I don't have no doubt that she's mine regardless of what going on. No, it's just I'm giving her her space because I know in her mind she lost. You know what I'm saying? She done lost her mother. She done lost her granny. She just losing, but I'm here now. You gonna win. That's the bottom line for her to win now.

So that's why you been trying to give her space?

I give her respect in her space. She's a grown woman, beautiful woman.

But I do feel like you should do a lot more, you know? I feel like— As what? Reaching out. Reaching out? I know we busy, we grown, we got life, we gotta do stuff we gotta do. But you know, don't just stop at reaching out. You should call more. You know, like you were involved in Dre, I want you to be more involved with me the same way with Dre.

Do you remember Diamond's mother?

Yes.

Yeah, what was your memories of her?

Oh man, her smile.

Uh-huh.

You know, her beautiful face.

Yeah.

And I used to just look at her sometimes and be like, wow.

Yeah, yeah.

And you know, like we communicated well.

When you were incarcerated, did you try to reconnect with her?

Yes, I wrote a letter. And in there I was explaining to her that I apologized to her It's not our fault, you know what I'm saying?

Right, 'cause wasn't she young when you guys met?

Yes.

And that's another reason why I feel like she threw me on another man like she did because it's like she kind of was ashamed of herself and he just up and left her in her mind, you know? So she like, I just feel like she did that.

Is there any possibility that you're not Diamond's father?

No, there is no, everything is possible.

Okay.

It's possible, strong possibility I am her father.

All right, hold on, it looks like we just got it, we're getting a ping. From Diamond's older sister, Jay.

Hi, my name is Jay. I am Diamond's older sister. Um, I don't think he's the father, only because like the dates are not adding or matching up. It is not given in the same timeline. Don't get me wrong, he seems like a cool guy, a nice guy, but the conversations I had with him and the questions that I asked him about certain dates and times, it just wasn't matching the timeframe. So I don't believe he's the father at all.

Okay. I'm gonna be honest, I wasn't expecting that pig. So has your sister shared that? You weren't expecting either?

Well, she said something similar, basically like he just, she feel like he's obsessed with my momma 'cause he always like, "Oh, she's so beautiful." Yeah, you told me that, but she's saying dates don't line up. She said the dates don't add up, but like I told her, she told me when she was one, he said he saw her when she was one. So if that's the case, if he saw you, obviously I was the next one, right? Yeah. It's only two of us. So it's like, I don't know where she coming from, but she just, 'cause like I said, that's what gave me my speculation and made me feel in my doubt. 'Cause at first I was like, this is my dad.

Like, yeah.

Yeah.

And this your best friend K? Yes, K. Okay, hey K. K, you encouraged her to connect with Andre.

Yes.

Why did you do that?

I've been knowing her for like 15 years now and all the time I've been knowing her, her dad that she, thought was her dad, never really been in her life. He didn't try, he didn't reach out.

Got it.

You know, and I grew up around a big family, a mother, a father, and I just feel like everyone deserves to know who their family is.

So what are you hoping the results will be? What are you hoping the results will be?

I'm hoping that he's her dad. I see the similarities, you know, I've been knowing her for a while and they act alike. They, they, they have a lot of things in common and she looks like his son.

Got it, okay. Well, I do think it's time to unlock the DNA truth. I think you've waited long enough.

Yeah. All right.

Diamond, in this envelope is the DNA truth you've waited 33 years for. This is not my truth to open, this is yours. So it's not my truth, this is yours. I don't know the results before and I don't wanna open 'em because this is not mine. I'm like, I'm here for you. Yeah.

I gotta—

It's for you.

How you feel?

Man, you my daughter. I don't care how I—

So if I open this and it say something different?

Well, if it say something different, then somebody gotta find my child. 'Cause I know your mother was pregnant by me. Believe that.

Whenever you're ready, just read the results for us. Take your time.

All right. Wow.

What does it say?

That's cool.

Come here. Come here. Come on. Get up. Get up. It don't make a difference. You mine. You mine. You hear me?

K, you can come on down here as well.

You come on down here, K. Don't be like that. I still believe you mine.

It's okay.

We still have a family. We'll always meet. Always have a family with me.

You still mine. You got too much attributes of me.

See, that's why I feel like I've been delusional or something.

Take a seat for me. You done talking. Take a seat.

Take a seat. I feel like I succeeded. No, I just feel like I just been so delusional.

You said you feel like you've been delusional?

Yeah.

So what I don't want you to do in this moment is to blame yourself. Because by saying that you've been delusional means that you had any fault in any of this and you have no fault. What you've been is someone who was open, who was loving and had the ability to say, let me figure this out. You haven't been delusional. The only people who have any responsibility to this are the adults that were around. You have no responsibility. And I know you're hurting right now. I know you are. And it's gonna take some time to process this. The other man that was down the street, would you like us to contact and see if he is your biological father?

If he not, then it's him. I don't, I don't—

Would you like us to support you in testing that man? Because I think you need clear answers.

Yes, I would.

'Cause you deserve that.

So how we gonna do it?

We'll talk to you. We'll talk to you. We got you. We'll talk to you backstage. Andre, before we go, I gotta ask you, how are you feeling in this moment?

Well, she must have liked me a lot 'cause you look like me.

Listen, well, I wish you the best of luck, Andre. I really do. Thank you for being here. Thank you for trusting me with y'all's story, all right? Thank you for being a good friend, all right?