"they told my mom, assuming she didn't know. She knew. In her defense, she wanted a kid but not a man. She never wanted my dad to leave his wife; she just wanted a baby. At the time, adoption or donor sperm was hard for single women, so she picked my dad, who already had eight kids and was a known cheater."
"I grew up being told he was just a sperm donor and owed us nothing. I had a much better life than my half-siblings, who technically had a dad, because he was a deadbeat even to them. And because he was married to their moms (two ex-wives with four kids each), they felt, fairly, that they were owed more from him. But I never felt any loss."
"My dad had suspicions for his whole life, so he was actually interested in looking into it even though it's been nearly 80 years. His dad, who raised him, came from a long line of guys who look a lot alike, but my dad never really fit that description. His brother totally does, and his brother's son. It's a pretty strong trait, I guess. We found out that he has two younger siblings."
Individuals born from affairs recount stigma, secrecy, and fragmented family ties. Some mothers chose a known cheater to conceive because adoption or donor sperm were inaccessible, prioritizing having a child over a partner. Fathers frequently remained absent or treated the child as a 'sperm donor,' creating unequal obligations toward children from different households. Many respondents reported never meeting their biological fathers and grieving unknown half-siblings. Others uncovered hidden paternal lineages decades later through investigation, revealing previously unknown siblings and family resemblances. Experiences range from indifference about paternal absence to lasting curiosity and emotional impact over missing familial connections.
Read at BuzzFeed
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