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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Think my husband has a lovechild

507 replies

Claire14467 · 20/01/2022 13:37

I am in shock and I don’t know what to do. I have just been contacted by a young man who has done an ancestry.com DNA test. He says the site indicates that there is a parental match to my husband. I know we have done these so they have our DNA on the system but I must say my husband was not keen on it at all at the time.
I am absolutely in shock. He is at work right now and I don’t know how I will face him later. Could this be wrong? Could this man be lying to get money?
Has anyone had a similar experience and got to the bottom of this?! I’m literally shaking with worry and anger.

OP posts:
contrary13 · 20/01/2022 15:50

Some years ago, long before the DNA kits were a "thing", a man contacted my grandmother, saying that he was my grandfather's nephew - the son of a daughter who had been "given away" by my great-grandparents at birth, which was why no one in the (large, very close) family knew about her. Problem was, my grandfather had recently died and his gravestone had been erected into the grave he shares with my uncle, who died as an infant. We all figured this man who'd turned up on my grandmother's doorstep had seen the gravestone and thought she was a childless widow... after all, I said at the time, why hadn't he contacted my grandfather's older sister who lived in the next village over from his home in South Wales (my grandparents lived in the Midlands)?! So, he was sent away - by my grandfather's children, grandchildren, and outraged nephews and nieces - with several fleas in his ear.

Then the DNA kits became a "thing" - and I did one. Turned out that this man's own nephew and I were related... through a daughter my great-grandmother had given birth to a few years before she'd married my grandfather and his siblings' father. Luckily the nephew of the man was gracious and we've actually become friends - he's NC with the man because he is actually something of a small time crook (and he did con money out of my grandfather's youngest sister... and an awful lot of it; she paid for several holidays, an extension to his house and school fees for his children Angry She had dementia and was thoroughly taken advantage of), and understood why we'd been so protective of my then recently bereaved, elderly grandmother.

So sometimes, shit happens - and you only find out through spitting into a tube and having your DNA sequences online. This unknown great-aunt of mine was also the product of an affair between my great-grandmother and the man who employed her as a housemaid/nanny for his then young children... and I know that if my great-grandfather had ever found out about it, @Claire14467 , he would have been furiously upset. I remember how I felt when my DC's father told me his girlfriend had just given birth to his baby - thus ending our relationship of almost 20 years. You have to process how you truly feel about what could well be true - your husband had sex with another woman, who conceived a child whilst you were pregnant. And then you have to work out if you can live with that fact. If you want to remain with your husband... or not. You have to discuss whether or not to inform your children that they potentially have a half-sibling (and perhaps more... not to be unkind, but there may be others; my ex has a son a year older than ours, which I discovered after I threw him out) and, if you do, support them through their confusion and possible anger towards their father (my daughter hasn't spoken to my ex since the day her half-sister was born, because she witnessed my immediate reaction to the information - and cannot forgive him for the pain it caused me). And if you tell them, and they decide to have a relationship with this young man... you'll have to process another sense of hurt and betrayal, plus guilt because they're your children and you want them to be happy!

Either way, you need to talk with your husband. He may well deny it, but DNA doesn't lie, so this young man will have to go through an independent test (paternity), with your husband's involvement, if you want the actual truth.

Flowers
LaughingCat · 20/01/2022 15:52

You are not being unreasonable in the slightest…those emotions are entirely valid.

However, first things first - those tests aren’t massively accurate. There is a reasonable chance that a family match could come across as a filial one. He could be your husband’s third cousin twice removed’s love child but the lab has hit on a closer match than it actually is.

Unfortunately, equally as likely, your husband did something stupid a couple of decades ago and doesn’t even know he has a child from it. I don’t know about you but I can’t remember to be angry at something my other half did two weeks ago, never mind way back in the annals of time.

That being said, just talk to him when he comes home. Whatever idiot thing he did back then, it was back then. He’s still with you now and you have been together in a partnership for 34 years.

Your anger, pain and hurt are valid and real. Absolutely so. But it doesn’t have to be the end if he’s willing to be open with you now you’ve found out. This may have been eating at him for a very long time.

PS: It could be a scam. It would very much depend on the tone of the communication. I see a lot of ‘honeypot’ scams online where men provide compromising photos of themselves and are then blackmailed. It follows then, that if you message ten thousand men on a genealogy website claiming to be a child, a reasonable proportion will have cheated at some point in their relationship. Research suggest roughly a fifth of all men cheat at some point…so that’s 2,000 potential marks who would have no clue whether or not they had a whoopsie out there, many of whom would be well motivated to pay out to hush things up. So, is there proof on the website that this lad is telling the truth or can you get him to take a proper DNA test? (As I said earlier, those home kits are rubbish!).

I hope, whichever way it goes in your conversation tonight, you get some peace of mind and get to move forward through this.

Huntswomanonthemove · 20/01/2022 15:53

@elelel

Interesting. I recognise your username elelel from another thread. You hounded one of the posters until she lost it and told you to f off.

Hounded?

I think you only apologised here as you've been called out by several posters. Stop trolling people on here

Not at all. I apologised because after 2 people mentioned it wasn't the place for being pedantic I thought about it and realised they were correct. So rather then slipping off quietly I apologised. Being called out doesn't fuss me, if I am wrong I can say so and apologise. Sorry to disappoint.

Well said @elelel.

Perhaps we can drop this now? It's getting tedious and distracts from the OP's issue.

LetsGoParty · 20/01/2022 15:53

.

FelicityPike · 20/01/2022 15:54

Hope it goes ok for you x.

MarshmallowFondant · 20/01/2022 15:55

However, first things first - those tests aren’t massively accurate. There is a reasonable chance that a family match could come across as a filial one. He could be your husband’s third cousin twice removed’s love child but the lab has hit on a closer match than it actually is.

Rubbish.

Hertsgirl10 · 20/01/2022 15:56

Do these sites actually say this person has the dna to be your dad, grandad, uncle etc?
Never done one but this thread is quite an eye opener, not read it all so I’m sorry if it’s been said already

GemmaRuby · 20/01/2022 15:56

@givememykeys we’re 9 pages in, any good advice has already been given, so I have nothing to add. But I am interested in seeing how it works out for OP. That’s a perfectly reasonable.

Saying my interest is prurient is unfounded and disgusting.

MrsPotatoHead22 · 20/01/2022 15:56

Oh gosh, how overwhelming. This would make my anxiety go into over drive. I'm hoping there's a reasonable explanation

iklboo · 20/01/2022 15:59

No advice to offer, shameless placemarking.

Do remember to bring your popcorn when you gleefully return to watch OP's life being shredded. Hmm

girlmom21 · 20/01/2022 16:00

[quote GemmaRuby]@givememykeys we’re 9 pages in, any good advice has already been given, so I have nothing to add. But I am interested in seeing how it works out for OP. That’s a perfectly reasonable.

Saying my interest is prurient is unfounded and disgusting.[/quote]
But you could be discrete and respectful and use the watch button, which is the point that was being made.

TragicallyUnbeyachted · 20/01/2022 16:01

@Pedalpushers

I don't understand how matches work on ancestry.com, but I would have thought contact could only be made through the app and (hope) that personal information about matches isn't just given out willy nilly, I don't see how this young man has enough information to identify you and get in touch?
When you have done an Ancestry DNA test the results are held against your profile but you can authorise another Ancestry member to manage your DNA matches and list that other member as an admin to contact with any messages. My DH has that set up on his profile pointing people to contact me, for example, and I assume OP is similar.
LaughingCat · 20/01/2022 16:01

@MarshmallowFondant

However, first things first - those tests aren’t massively accurate. There is a reasonable chance that a family match could come across as a filial one. He could be your husband’s third cousin twice removed’s love child but the lab has hit on a closer match than it actually is.

Rubbish.

Ah, apologies, I mustn’t know what I’m talking about. I only have a relevant biomedical degree and years in the life sciences industry.

The sales pitch for those companies is exactly that: a sales pitch. Go to different companies and you often get different answers. This person did exactly that: www.livescience.com/63997-dna-ancestry-test-results-explained.html

Love how you rubbished my answer without crediting the fact that I said it was equally as likely that the OP’s husband cheated on her.

Lordy, I must remember not to feed the trolls…

Star81 · 20/01/2022 16:01

There is a lot to take in here and lots of things that could / could not be the way you are immediately thinking. I understand your reaction but just tread carefully in case all is not what it seems.

Reallycantbesarsed · 20/01/2022 16:02

Hopefully there will be a simple explanation. Flowers

Iluvperegrines · 20/01/2022 16:04

It cannot be a scam.

If the message is linked to an account showing 3500cm approx dna. The name will be at the top of the list and it cannot be a scam.

Snorkmaidenn · 20/01/2022 16:04

Is it possible for you to ask the young man in question for a clear facial photograph?

He should bear some resemblance to either your children or husband.
When watching Long lost family, I notice this.
Hope all goes well.

Huntswomanonthemove · 20/01/2022 16:05

This is someone's real life you know, @GemmaRuby do you realise how crass and insensitive you are?

if you want to rubberneck for your own purient interest use the watch function

Wow, how sanctimonious is this? ^

having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters,especially the sexual activity of others.
"she'd been the subject of much prurient curiosity" FYI @givememykeys

[Prepares to be flamed for distracting from the thread]

Rubysocold · 20/01/2022 16:05

No, but it will say how closely related a person is. So dh's match was close enough to have been aunty/ uncle/ half sibling. And one of those was correct. The person who cut him off was something like second cousin/ half uncle/ half aunty... which is why we think that person suddenly realised how they were related to dh and stepped away before dropping someone in it.

SpiderinaWingMirror · 20/01/2022 16:06

I think you are wise to sense check but prepare yourself for it to be true.
My dd has a very clear parent match to me on Ancestry. But yes, do a seperate dna test.

NatashaBedwouldbenice · 20/01/2022 16:08

Lordy, I must remember not to feed the trolls…

It's not trolling to point out that parent match is on average 3485cM and a "third cousin twice removed’s love child" would be on average 27cM.

Hertsgirl10 · 20/01/2022 16:08

@MarshmallowFondant

STOP DERAILING THIS THREAD WITH YOUR SILLY BICKERING THE LOT OF YOU.

Jeezo, it's like being in nursery school.

@MarshmallowFondant

It’s exhausting… why are people telling others to go onto old threads to apologise like they’re children ffs.
People can be arseholes we know this but it’s not up to anyone else to tell a grown person to say sorry, Iv seen a lot worse on here recently to the point OP’s have been scared off their own posts asking for advice and support.

toppkatz · 20/01/2022 16:08

@Vapeyvapevape

25yr old is self absorbed knob to call you out of the blue and announce your husband may be his dad

How else is a child that hasn't known their father supposed to 'announce' it ?

Announcing it to his unsuspecting wife is probably not the most tactful approach.
MarshmallowFondant · 20/01/2022 16:09

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-accurate-are-online-dna-tests/

Scientific American must have it all wrong then too.

A "third cousin twice removed" shares 0-166 cM of DNA. A child/parent shares 2376-3720 cM DNA. There is NO WAY that someone who has a tiny percentage of shared DNA will come up as a sibling/child/parent.

I have already gone through the ranges of cM matches and how that (for example) the upper end of the cM range for a first cousin overlaps with the ranges for niece/nephew, half-sibling, grandchild and am not going through it all again.

Yes there are potential explanations other than child/parent. But the OP has not stated the shared cM between her DH and the match.

But coming on and saying that it's probably not a child, it's some very distant third cousin's child IS rubbish and just plain wrong.

Ionlydomassiveones · 20/01/2022 16:10

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