Will A DNA Test Reveal My True Identity? | KARAMO

All right everyone, welcome to the show. My next guest, Tywana, reached out to me because she feels like she has never known her true identity. Tywana is 35 years old and she says her paternity has been a big joke in her family. She has been looking for answers her entire life and I'm gonna help her get to the bottom of them. Friends, please welcome Tywana to the show.

Hi. Hi.

How are you doing?

I'm great. Thank you.

Nice to meet you, Tyjuan.

Nice to meet you as well.

Please take a seat. Okay, so tell me, why are you here?

I'm here because to my family, it's been a joke, everything. Basically, oh, he may be your dad, he may not be your dad. Oh, you don't know who your dad is. Just joking. And I need to know who I am to tell my children who they are. I have Gerald, he's in my life because him and my mom are together. My kids call him grandpa, which is he their grandpa? Is he not their grandpa? I need to know who I am.

So growing up, you did not know who your father was?

Growing up, I knew what they said. Roger's your dad.

This is a gentleman named Roger is your dad?

Gentleman named Roger is my dad. That's what I knew. He wasn't never around. He wasn't a dad that was there. It wasn't like, "Hey dad, let's go to the store." That wasn't happening. I would say the last time I seen him, I was 4. Then I didn't see him or hear from him until again, I was 14. And then throughout all of that, rewind back to when I was 7, Gerald was dating my mom. They broke up. He would still come around, take me to get ice cream, take me to the movies. And then I had to be about maybe 16 to 18. I don't really remember how old I was. And my Aunt Juliette was like, "No, it's not a joke. Gerald's your dad." And I'm like, "Whoa, why am I just learning this? Why am I just knowing this?" Like, that hurts.

Yeah.

'Cause here I am thinking that Roger's my dad and he just was a dad that didn't wanna be involved, but maybe he treated me that way Because he didn't think he was my dad.

Yeah.

So that hurts.

Of course, I can see the pain coming from that.

And then it's still a situation of Gerald, if you really felt you were my dad, why were you in and out? You could've did way more.

So, so yeah. So Julie, your mom's best friend, is the person who told you that Gerald could be your father.

Julie is the one that said, I always heard it from other family members, But Julie is the one that was like, no, it's true, he's really your dad. Look at y'all, look at him, look at, you know, me, you and him together, y'all are similar, y'all act alike. And I'm just like, no, and then my husband kept saying it. Yeah, like if you look at me and him, it's like I see it.

So this is your husband.

This is my husband.

Your mom.

My mom and Gerald.

And Gerald, okay.

And I see my face mixed between the two of them. I don't feel like I ever looked like Roger.

Yeah.

I don't, always felt like I looked like him.

So what does your mother Carol have to say about all this?

She just really doesn't say anything too much. Her whole, like, which hurts, 'cause it's like, I wanna know who I am.

Yeah.

So for you to not say anything, I would rather you say to me, even if you wanted to wait till I turned 18 and say, hey, I don't know. But it's like, you just not acknowledged it. Yeah. I feel how she probably feels like, I was a good mom, so it really doesn't matter. But it does. It does. It does.

Of course it does.

It does. I don't feel like I know who I am. I don't feel like I know who I am. And I feel like I would know who I am if I knew who my dad was. I feel like I would treat Gerald differently if he was my dad. I feel like if Roger was my dad in the situation, I would've treated him differently the time that I did get to spend with him. 'cause he passed on and it's like, I didn't even appreciate, like, I didn't take the time to think of him passing on because I didn't know if he was my dad. So it's like, maybe if he is my dad or if he was my dad, I think I'm gonna feel different about him passing 'cause I didn't even acknowledge it because it was like, eh.

Yeah, the stakes are high for you right now.

This is something that's been sitting heavy on me since I became an adult.

Let's hear what Tawana's Aunt Julie has to say. Thanks for being here, Julie.

Thank you for me being here.

So what do you have to say about all this?

My point of view, I think Gerald is her father, not Roger, because him and Cal was more closer than Roger was.

Roger went there. But you could have been said that, Aunt Juliette. It was like, you are my Aunt Juliette, you are her best friend. So I hold you accountable too because you could have then pulled me to the side as an adult and said, I'm not joking, I think he really is your dad. I should not be sitting here on a Karamo show asking who my dad is.

That's true, that's true, and I'm very sorry that I didn't tell you when I was supposed to tell you. Truly. That was your mother's job to tell you about your father, who was your father and who wasn't That's not your father.

Tawana grew up believing another man was her dad. Before we meet Gerald, listen to what he had to say about all of this.

This whole paternity situation started with Tawana's mother back in 1986. When Carol was pregnant with Tawana, we were broken up. She didn't tell me that she was pregnant. Carol had another man believe that he was Tawana's father. I missed out on the beginning of Tawana's life, but I have made up for it in the long run. Ever since Tawana was 7 years old, I have been a great father to her. Tawana had thought another man was her dad, but me, I never believed it. When I took Tawana to church, my family had said that Tawana resembles me. When Walter asked me to take a DNA test about 3 years ago, I told him no. I don't need a piece of paper to verify who my child is. When Karamo tell me I'm Tawana's father, I'm gonna do a backflip.

All right everyone, please welcome Gerald to the show. Thank you for being here. So listen, I gotta start off. You did not know about Carol's pregnancy?

No, I did not. I was away for a while and I didn't know anything until I came home. When I came home, I found out there was a child in my life.

So did you ever tell Tywanna that you were her father?

Oh no.

Nope. Oh no.

No. No, no, never did. And that thing, a good father?

We bonded when you were small. 7 years old when I met y'all, came to prison. The first time I fed you with a spoon when you was a kid, and I knew then you was mine. I could feel it. I don't have no one to tell me what to do.

Yeah, that's what you keep saying. I don't need a paper. I want clarity, and that should've happened years ago when you found out, years ago.

So Gerald, because if you're, it's all rosy now sitting on the show and saying, listen, yeah, she's my daughter. But if you thought she was your daughter, why didn't you clear all this up before? Because you hear her saying she's been in pain for all these years 'cause she doesn't know who she is. You could have solved that immediately.

I could have had, but I didn't know how to go about doing that because her mother had her believing that Roger was her father. So I cannot jump in there and say, well, hell no, he's not, I'm your father. That would've been confusing.

But you did eventually.

So why didn't you get a DNA test?

Why? That's what they wanted to do, so I did it for them.

I mean, Now.

I'm talking before, you're doing it now, but why didn't you do it before?

I had one 3 years ago to take.

You took a DNA test 3 years ago?

He didn't take it. I didn't take it.

He didn't wanna take it.

I felt he had no need to take it.

He says what he says all the time. I don't need a paper to tell me. I don't need a paper to tell me that you're mine. But I need a paper. I need that clarity.

All right, listen everyone, there's one more person that we need to meet in this story and that's Tywana's husband, Walter. Everyone, please welcome Walter to the show as well.

Hey.

How you doing, Karamo? All right.

Good to meet you.

Hey.

So Walter, I wanna go right into you. What happened years ago?

Oh, 3 years ago, we could have made it very clear that this would've been over with, but we here now. You didn't want to take it. I had to spend my money just to get it done and you said no.

So you were the one who spent your money to get this DNA test 3 years ago that he denied?

Yes. More than one time we sat there, he cried himself and like, I know she my daughter, I just don't wanna take it. I'm like, so why would you let me spend my money to take the test, buy the test if you don't wanna do it?

Yeah.

So I'm like, why?

Walter, who do you blame for all this?

I blame 'em both. Aunt Juliette too, she is there. She was there when this was going down.

You put yourself in the middle of business. You put yourself in the middle of business. I blame you.

Why?

You put yourself in the middle of it.

It wasn't my problem to tell her anything. That's her mother's doing. That's her mother's doing. Your mother's supposed to. It ain't my fault. It's not my fault. But I did tell her. I did tell her.

But years later.

But her mother never told her.

Years later, that's years.

Well, we here now, right?

Jared, I'm gonna ask you a real question.

We here now, we trying to find out who's the dad and who ain't the dad.

Yeah, Jared, I got a real question for you because I heard you, Walter just said you cried one of the times when y'all were supposed to take the DNA test 3 years ago. What were you afraid of in that moment? 'Cause that was fear. Those were tears of fear.

Of not being the father.

So you have doubts?

I don't have doubts.

One second you say you don't need a paper, but then one second you said you cried because of the fear. It's either you don't need a paper and you sure, or you're not sure, just like me sitting here.

Because, Walter, it's okay if you're not sure. You had the woman you love tell you that another man could be the father. It would make sense of why you would be hesitant as well. The same thing, the same trauma she's experiencing, you're experiencing a different way. It's a lot worse for her as the child in this situation, but I can understand. It's like you show up and it's like, well, you ain't the dad, Roger's the dad. Oh, so now it's like, well, what happens? Because what happens to you if this result comes back and you're not the father? What does this mean to you?

What that mean to me? Nothing's gonna change. I will still love her as a child of mine and I will still love my grandkids.

All right, Tywanna, you have waited 30 years to get to the bottom of all this. Are you ready to finally get the truth?

Yes. I'm ready. I'm ready.

All right, good.

I'm ready.

Well, listen, I have the card right here that has the outcome. This DNA outcome is going to either give you clarity or is going to unfortunately still keep you lost. Are you ready for this moment?

Honestly, I'm ready. I need to know. I need to know who I am.

Gerald, are you ready for this as well?

Every day.

'Cause this is 35 years. Yeah. All right, well, here's the card. If you could please read the results out when you're ready.

Just need a second.

Yeah.

'Cause this here is my life.

Yeah.

This determines who I am. This determines if he's my dad or if I'm still just gonna be lost.

What does it say?

It says, "Jerome is not your father." Wait a minute.

Take your time.

Well, we all hurt.

Yeah.

We all hurt.

So while they're back there talking, who do you think could be her father?

Well, I said he was, but evidently he's not. So Roger must be the father.

And is it Roger's passed away? I'm gonna go backstage and just check on them, just make sure. All right. I'll be right back. Yeah, I'm coming to check on you. Take a seat, take a seat, take a seat. Listen, I'm gonna tell you this right now. I know you gotta take a second and I know you feel really lost right now.

Right now.

I want you to focus on one thing first. It's that you do have people who love you. Walter's out there, he loves you. He's gonna be there to support you. And you're not as lost as you think because you have your mother and you have these kids who still, you are the matriarch of the family. You have started to give them clarity. You've built a life. But I can support you on this journey. We have a whole team here who can support you to get these answers if you want the support. I do. Because you don't deserve to feel lost.

No.

But just know this man still got up and walked with you. You still have the love of a man who loves you and supports you. He came right here. Like he didn't have to get up. He could stay on the couch. He got up with you because he loves you.

Yeah.

So as you're on this journey right now, just know that there are people that love you who want to give you something, but I can get you the answers. What is going through your mind right now? Oh yeah.

I'll be okay.

Do you think that you would be able to talk to Carol and help encourage her to get some answers? Sure. Because Carol is the, your mother's at the root of all this. She should have, she got you involved, she got you involved in this. That's where the answers need to come from. No more. We are going to scour and we are gonna figure out who your father is.

Thank you. Yeah. I appreciate that. I appreciate that.

Listen, we're gonna be here for you.

Thank you so much.

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