Woman speaks out on the moment she found out her parents are brother and sister

A woman has opened up on the dramatic discovery that her parents were actually brother and sister.

You've probably got a lot of questions from that line, and it is fair to say the story is pretty unbelievable - something you might expect to stumble across in a a film or novel.

Teresa Weiler, 64, spoke about the earth-shattering revelation on BBC Radio 4's Life Changing programme.

Weiler was adopted as a toddler by a senior civil servant and his wife in Middlesex, describing it as a loving home.

But when she reached 18, her father handed over her original birth certificate where she discovered her biological mother's name.

Jason Bye / Alamy Stock Photo

On the certificate, her mother was named as Teresa Maureen O'Reilly, a waitress who'd lived in London St Pancras.

However, there was no mention of her dad's name on the birth certificate.

Fast forward a few years to her mid-twenties, Weiler contacted social services so she could get hold of her adoption file.

The document revealed Weiler's biological mother, O'Reilly, gave birth to her when she was 16.

It was then that she realised who her biological father was: none other than Sean, her mum's 15-year-old brother.

In the emotional interview with Dr Sian Williams, Weiler explained the emotions she went through after finding out the shocking truth.

She said: "The first thing that happens is the shock and the revulsion and the shame, because I’d grown up in a strict Catholic family where sex before marriage was even a no-no.

"So, for me, this was off the scale."

In the interview, she spoke on how she questioned why she was abandoned by her parents growing up and also wondered whether her progeny was the cause of health issues she was suffering with such as early onset arthritis.

She continued: "So this explains why no-one will come back for me, this explains why no-one wants me.

Image Source / Alamy Stock Photo

"I didn’t think my family would still want me, I thought they would turn their back on me if they knew the truth, and I couldn’t face the shame of telling friends or other people the truth."

Weiler then spoke on the detrimental impact the discovery had on her, describing herself as 'tainted goods'.

She was asked how she continued on with life, in which she said: "I made a very important decision – I decided that if I had come from that background, and with all the physical and mental challenges that might make for vulnerability of children of my own, I decided I would never have children.

"That was huge, because I dearly, dearly wanted children, that was one of my greatest wishes. But I simply didn’t feel that I could bring a child into the world knowing that just one generation previously, that had been the history."

For help or support, visit adoptionuk.org

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