In this televised family‑reconciliation episode, host Karamo interviews 18‑year‑old Anna Grace, who has spent her life questioning the identity of her father after being removed from her mother as an infant. Anna recounts being told that her legal father, Lonnie, listed on her birth certificate, was not her biological parent, and describes the emotional toll of growing up without parental contact, including supervised visits, bullying, and feelings of abandonment. She shares a written list of boundaries she set for her mother, Ruth, demanding personal space, respect, and an apology. Ruth admits she was responsible for Anna’s removal and expresses regret, while Ray, a man who had been searching for Anna for over a decade, appears on the show. Ray explains his past drug‑related circumstances, his attempts to locate Anna, and his deep emotional connection, revealing that he is Anna’s biological father. The episode culminates with Ray confirming paternity, announcing his immediate relocation to Alabama to build a relationship with Anna, and offering ongoing support. Lonnie, Ruth’s estranged husband, also appears, expressing his own pain and acknowledging the larger impact of the situation. Karamo frames the conversation as a first step toward healing, emphasizing the importance of acknowledgment, apology, and future support for Anna.
Chapters
Growing up, who did you believe was your father?
As a baby, you don't really think of that, but everyone else was under the impression that Lonnie was the father since he was married to my mom. Yeah. Adorable. And so yeah, when I was 7, they, my mother was not present, but they sat me down at the kitchen table and they began to tell me that They don't know who my dad is. And it was really hard to hear at such a young age.
Thank you. You're welcome.
And then they said they didn't know who it was. So I'm, for the next 3 years, going around questioning, who is my dad? Why doesn't he wanna be here?
Yeah.
And—
With knowing that knowledge, what was your childhood like? Was it hard for you?
It was really hard growing up because I really didn't have either parent. I'm living 3 states away, I don't know who my dad is, and my mom isn't allowed to, I'm not allowed to stay with her.
And when were you taken away from your mother and why?
I wasn't older than a year when I was taken away. And I don't honestly know the hardcore truth. When I try to talk to my mother about it, it gets shut down. But everyone else has told me that She left me with a friend and my sister with a friend for 3 days, did not come back. And that friend called CPS like, these aren't my kids, I don't know what to do.
My producer told me that you did have some supervised visits with your mother, but those didn't really mean a lot.
We weren't allowed to stay with her at her own home, so she would have to come over to the houses that we were staying at. I didn't have the relationship with my mother that a little girl needed. And that was really hard because not only do I not know who my dad is, so don't have that relationship, my mom is right there and I can't have it.
Yeah, yeah. Did you still have contact with your mother after she was no longer in your life?
I don't speak to my mother anymore. I haven't spoken to her since November. Growing up, I went through all this hardship. So as I got older, I started having more self-esteem self-love and worth for myself and knowing my worth. So I set boundaries for people.
What boundaries did you give your mother?
I wrote a whole page of boundaries. I, here it is here. I wanted personal space. I needed to be able to be open and be me and be honest about who I am without being judged or ridiculed or without being spoken to with a condescending tone because when I'm just trying to express myself and you tell me that I'm just trying to fight with you, that makes me feel like such a bad person. But at the same time, it makes me feel bad for wanting answers.
I'm so impressed by this. This is literally my only goal to teach people this. You gotta give me a high five. I am thoroughly impressed. Just that first line, giving personal space so I can be Me, don't invade my privacy. You better preach.
Growing up.
Listen here now. Growing up was not only difficult for me because of not knowing who my dad is and all this other drama going on. When I would try to speak to anyone, especially my mother, about these issues and how they made me feel, 'cause they made me feel like I was a disappointment, like I wasn't wanted, like I did something wrong as a child to make him not want me. And that's not okay. It's not okay to make a child feel like that.
Did you know Lonnie growing up?
I have no memories of Lonnie. I don't know him.
Yeah, he's a stranger to you.
Exactly.
Who's on your birth certificate?
Lonnie.
Lonnie is on your birth certificate. Did your mother tell you who she believed your father is?
At the age of around 10, I was really questioning it 'cause I remember distinctly crying in a Walmart parking lot at 2:00 AM in the car crying, "Why doesn't my dad want me? Who is he? I need a dad. This isn't okay. I'm watching all my friends go to father-daughter dances and all this stuff and I can't have that." And that was a terrible feeling because in school, bullying is still a thing.
And I was always bullied for being that one little girl that didn't have her dad.
Yeah.
It's just made life so difficult because now I'm 18, still asking the same questions, and I haven't even figured out who I am as a person 'cause I'm trying to figure out who all these people are that are supposed to be here.
Yeah, the unfortunate part is you're still trying to clean up a mess that was made by people that should have given you clarity and true support. Supported you, and I'm glad that at least now here you'll get some answers today. Everyone help me welcome Ruth to the show. I see you're emotional, Ruth. What's going on?
I don't know where to start because, I mean, there's just so much going on, and, um, if you don't know where to start, I can start because I have to so many questions that I have wanted the answer to for 18 years.
I would love that because the most frustrating thing for me in this situation is knowing that I've told you the truth no matter how bad it may be.
But the thing is, I've been told so many things, I don't know what is the truth. I don't know who I can trust at this point. If I get told 7 different stories, how do I know who to believe? You're my mom, I should believe you, but I don't live with you, I got taken away from you, so who should I know how to believe?
I'm the reason you got taken away. I've never denied that. No one else was around to help. I'm the one that fought for you. I'm the one that did all of that, and I'm the one that has tried to see you and be with you, and I'm the only one that got kept away from you.
You're not the only one that got kept away from me. You know how many people I wanted to see growing up and I couldn't see them because of the situation that all of you created?
Yes, her feelings are valid. Of course they are.
Then show that.
I have.
So Ruth, the reason that it comes across to your daughter is because I'm telling you she feels—
You can't, no, you can't not talk to me for 2 months and then act like I've said anything.
Ruth, we're gonna come back to you a little bit later 'cause I need to support your daughter right now. Can I cut that? Thank you. So the reason I'm telling you not to engage right now is because what I saw there was now a clearer picture of what you're experiencing. And I tried to give your mother the tools to understand what she was doing and what she was feeling and to how to understand what you're feeling. Can't acknowledge the hurt and pain the way you need her to for your childhood. And that's the sad part right now. And the reason I told you not to engage is because the answers you need is not from her. What you do need from her is an apology, What you need from her is acknowledgement. She's not in the place to give it to you yet. But what you can get here on this day is support from one of these men who are hopefully your father. So that's why I wanna move on. Everyone, please help me welcome Ray to the show so we get some real answers. Why didn't you see her for 18 years?
Her mom and I were really, really young at the time. We got involved in drugs and all the kids were taken. I tried to contact her. Throughout the years, she was taken away. I had no idea how to find her for a long time.
Understandable.
I tried everything I could. The only thing I knew about this young lady right here is she was in Alabama.
And when was that first time you reached out to her?
Probably over 10 years ago. I know that her, I found her on social media and all her pictures at the time were young.
That's actually what started the whole me being sat down at the kitchen table. It's 'cause he messaged me and I was like, 'Who is this random person telling me they're my dad?
What is this?' And that started the conversation. Got it.
That's when they thought it was time to tell me and they told me. And when they told me, it did break my heart. And I was wondering who this dude was.
And that's why you started to block him and start to figure out.
'Cause I was scared. It made me feel scared because why after 7 years are you trying to message me and get in contact with me? Where were you the other 7 years? 'Cause that's hard to, It's hard to understand as such a young child that things happen and there could actually be reasons that they can't be there.
If I had that option, I would've been. I had no idea where you were. Look, there wasn't a day that went by that I did not think about this girl. There's a couple of songs that I played for her that I listen to one of them every day religiously. That is my song to her.
Very, very religious song.
This girl is my heart. The name of the song is Zoe Jane by Stained.
And he did embarrass me at karaoke by changing Zoe Jane to Anna Grace in front of everybody.
Look, this is my mini me, y'all. I love this girl. This is my daughter no matter what. Look, we went so far as we've got matching tattoos here. We got this after we met last year as an adult. And this basically sums up everything. My missing puzzle piece.
I also wanna talk to Lonnie, who is the estranged husband or husband of Ruth, your mother, and hear his side of this entire story. So everyone help me welcome Lonnie to the show. So when was the last time you saw her?
When was that, around 9 months?
When she was 9 months old.
Got it.
So this is your first time seeing her in person since she was 9 months old? How would you feel if you were not the father today?
It's gonna be like rehashing a nightmare.
Yeah.
Whenever I went through all that, I went to a very, very dark, deep place. I disconnected from everybody.
Yeah.
I cut off my family, I cut off my friends. I stayed in the furthest point away from everything that I could. I had to.
I'm gonna ask you this because even though we don't know the results, I do hear language that says that you could feel as if you're gonna regress. Do you have support either way, whether you're the father or not, to help you in this moment? You do. Okay, just wanna make sure. Just wanna make sure. I wanna go backstage and talk to Ray because something that's interesting is you have no ill will to Ray, but he has so much towards you.
It is brought on to him through Ruth.
Yeah, because for you, you're like, "I'm not mad. I'm not trying to take anything that's yours." Those were your exact words.
That's not my place.
Yeah.
And this is a much bigger picture than me, than him, than her. This is about This young lady right here.
Yeah, got it.
I could have been in the position that he's in right now.
But you understand that the person who put him in that position was Ruth.
I get that.
So even though you're mad at him, she was the one that said, "Oh, you're the dad, let me come here." And he just tried to do the best he could do.
That's fair, and it's easier for me to hate him than it is to be mad at her.
Exactly.
Just be mad at her, it's not that big of a deal.
I will, Anna.
Can you come back out?
Yes.
All right, come on out with it. I think it's time now to get this truth answered.
Can I just say something before you open that? All right, just like I stated earlier, I'm not here to take anything away from nobody. So no matter what you get there, I've done told you where I stand. Good luck, baby.
I've waited on this for so long.
And you deserve it.
It's here now. There's no more questions anymore.
This is a good first step in your healing.
Told you. Ray is my father.
I told you. I knew it. I knew it. You have to have him. So now that that's out there, can I just say that if Anna does wanna pursue any type of relationship with Lonnie, that's between her and Lonnie. I would never stand in the way of that. She deserves, she needs.
That's good, that's good, that's good.
She needs all the support that she can get right now.
That's good, that's good, that's good. I tried, I tried.
No, you succeeded. You didn't try, you succeeded.
After this though, I have one more surprise for my daughter. I can say that officially now.
Yeah. Hey, you feeling okay?
I feel a little overwhelmed, but also very happy that I finally got my results. But I also feel bad because We're gonna have a relationship, but I feel like I just broke his heart all over again.
But that's not your responsibility. That was Ruth. And Lonnie, I will say this to you. I'm very sorry that at a young age you got dragged into this because the thing is, is that this, that choice changed the course of your life in different ways from you getting angry and having to go back to jail. And I'm sorry and you deserved better. She said it when you came out, And I just wanna acknowledge that no one in here is gonna look at you as a bad person. I'm glad that the world is gonna be able to see the man you are. And hopefully that gives you a little bit of a vindication that the world actually gets to see like, this wasn't all me. Somebody else played a role in this life, but you made the best of it. And I'm thankful for you. I really am thankful.
I want, I wanna personally thank you and your producers. But with that being said, I do have one final surprise for my daughter. Effective immediately, I am relocating to Alabama. When I said earlier that 17 and a half years have been taken away from us, nothing, we're not missing any more days. We're gonna figure out who you are together. I am leaving for Alabama Saturday night or Sunday morning.
It's a lot, right? What I'm glad about this is that I know that's abrupt, but what I'm happy about this is that this hopefully today can also start to heal a little bit of the abandonment issues you have. You have two men. I ain't going nowhere. Two men that are supporting you, that still love you. You have one that's going to try to move closer to be there to support you. So thank you. I also thank you for stepping up. I feel like crying. And I appreciate the woman that you are growing to be. You don't change your path. You do not change, okay?
Thank you so much.
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