Sex, Lies & The Truth

Zach did not have a good relationship with his father. So bad was it that Zach found himself fantasizing about having a new dad. Maybe that was some sort of intuition of what was to come when he finally took a commercial DNA test that proved there was a new beginning out there for him.

We have christened Lynn our first “crowded MPE”, there were that many people involved with her conception and cover up.  Lynn talks about her unusual origin story, struggles with identity and family dynamics.  And shares her one secret weapon to deal with the challenges.

Raised knowing he was adopted, Noah didn’t know much about his ancestry, ethnicity or birth parents until a birthday present helped him put the pieces together, along with five siblings.

Tamara often felt she didn’t fit in with her family, which looked different than most since she was raised by her grandparents. A DNA test proved why she felt different and triggered a series of discoveries that changed her life both for the best and worst. Tamara shows us what resilience in the face of adversity looks like and relies on a positive attitude to cope with her MPE discovery.

Ryan Anderson largely ignored his adoption until the pandemic forced him to face how poorly he had been dealing with it since he found out just before his 18 th birthday – what’s called a Late Discovery Adoptee (LDA).  He jumped in with both feet, posting a video about his journey hoping it would help others living similar experiences and talks more specifically with us about the mental health impact.

Adoptions are part of the MPE universe, and set the stage for the non-paternal events to understand the process.  Jennifer had an intuition about her sense of not belonging in her family since she was quite young. What happens when your intuition turns out to be right? Turns out, you’re no better prepared for the emotional fall out.

Cassandra Adams was raised Italian and Catholic and never expected to find anything surprising in her DNA test.  What she found profoundly changed the direction of her life and fabric of her family relationships, not to mention identity and religious practices.  Get to know her journey through the business of secrecy and the advocacy work of Cassandra Adams.

Christine learned of her NPE by mistake as a child, but the secret lay at the surface because her parents had a different secret to focus on: the swinging lifestyle. For Christine the discovery didn’t just tell her she had a different father, she was also a different race.

Julie was raised in a nice Irish Catholic family and knew from an early age she was adopted.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s more to it than that, since our stories never end in the easy places.  

In a rare treat, we get to share an interview with a biological parent.  It's rare for many reasons, but this is special because it's Allie's biological mother (previous episode).  You'll get to hear another side of this amazing story, equally as elegant and heart-warming as Allie's story.

We can’t wait for you to meet Alli.  Her episode is told through the eyes of the adoptee, and will linger in your memory the way only a good story can.  And stay tuned for the next episode, which includes an interview with her biological mother.  

When we last left Damon, he had just decided to search for his biological father.    He thought it would be as straight forward as finding Ann, but not much in the MPE, adoption world is straight forward.  Just how many DNA tests does one person have to take to find a parent anyway?

In this episode we meet Damon Davis, the former Director for the Health Data Initiative in the office of the Chief Technology Officer under the United States Department of Health & Human Services. Since holding that position, Damon has also added author and hosts the podcast Who Am I Really?, sharing adoption stories and attempts at reunion, like his own.  Damon’s story of adoption was so impactful we decided to tell it in two parts.

Like many MPE’s Laura felt different, never quite feeling she fit into the family.  And that was just the beginning of a strange and difficult journey, leading to a heartwarming ending. Laura’s adoption story was not so much told to her as something she sought out for herself, using her intuition to search for clues and follow leads.  Starting with intense studying of her adoption paperwork, Laura astutely put together the facts on the forms didn’t make sense. And those early days spent studying in the closet ultimately paid off.

Da Rhonda shares her incredible story of a childhood as one of three children with parents who were closely biologically related and not able to be the parents they should have been, resulting in more than just an MPE.  Despite her struggles, Da Rhonda displays resilience and hope, a true inspiration. Episode warning: If you lived a chaotic and abusive childhood, this episode may be triggering or may be hard to hear.If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence in the United States, the National Domestic Violence Hotline advocates are available at 1-800-799-SAFE and through online chatting at www.TheHotline.org.If you or someone you know is interested in sharing their story on the show, contact us at sexliestruthpodcast@gmail.com.

At ten years old, Stacy found divorce paperwork that detailed the child support and some confusing NPE news regarding her sister.  Divorces would become familiar experiences for Stacy’s mom as Stacy would gain fathers and lose them until the final discovery in 2019.  Family for Stacy has been experienced between two extremes: “you’ll find out when I die” and “you would have been in our lives”. Stacy tells us about walking on eggshells with mom, being a peacekeeper and family mementos.You can support the podcast at:  www.patreon.com/sexliesandthetruth

Cory was the favorite in the family but always thought her stepfather was a bit odd.  Then, more oddities began appearing when Cory realized there no pictures of herself over a period of time, as if she didn’t exist.  She was taught not to trust her intuition, an important skill for a performer to be denied.  Learn about Cory’s journey to DNA discovery, with identity confusion, mental health consequences and secret photos of a strange man holding her at 9 mos old.  You’ll never look at LinkedIn the same.

Tiffany and the Artist:Fatherhood means many things, but usually not multiple men.  Tiffany grew up with the ghost of her assumed, beloved father who died when she was at a tender age.  Later adopted by a step-father, she grew to know the love a father until she discovered she was donor conceived.  Tiffany’s story is full of twists and surprises, including an explanation for her artistic skills.  Tiffany teaches us about rewriting ourselves, discovering family and finding the right answers.

Born from an affair, Dinah understands the hardship of the MPE journey. She knew perseverance from living with a genetic disability so when biological family wouldn’t respond to her, she had some resilience already in place. Dinah teaches us how to have self-compassion, how to overcome feeling stuck in negative thinking, how to recognize synchronicities and a great way to respond to biological family with a pie metaphor.

Donor conception gets a lot of press these days, particularly because of the prolific donations in the US resulting in tens, if not hundreds, of siblings in some cases.  Lindsay is one such donor conceived person, who inconceivably has decided she has unfair expectations of her donor, a mere nine months into the discovery.  Although, that wasn’t the first time she discovered she was donor conceived - she was 18 when mom first tried to tell her.  With the help of an amazing group of new biological siblings, Lindsay has adapted to her DNA discovery in impressive ways.If you or anyone you know is interested in sharing your DNA discovery, contact Jodi & Christina at sexliestruthpodcast@gmail.com.