After 50 Years, Woman Discovers Foster Care Trauma Stemmed from the Wrong Man Being Called “Dad”
Christie Werts' life unraveled after DNA revealed her father wasn't her biological dad. See how she found healing and hope.
Christie Werts grew up feeling different from her family. Her cleft chin, lighter skin tone, and sensitivity stood out in a predominantly Mexican household. These differences became glaring in public, where she often drew unwanted attention.“Even going to playgrounds, the cops would get called on my dad because I didn’t look like him,” Werts recalls.
Her childhood was turbulent, marked by her parents’ struggles with addiction. When Werts was 14, her family’s instability resulted in her placement in foster care. This traumatic experience left her vowing to never engage with the foster system again.
Werts’ relationship with her mother was fraught with abandonment. Her mother left Christie and her brother in daycare as children and only made sporadic appearances in their lives thereafter. Though her mother eventually got sober, it was too late to repair their relationship.
Her mother’s jokes about Werts’ paternity lingered in her mind. Despite the hints, the truth about her biological father remained a mystery for decades.
In 2021, Werts faced a significant decision. Her husband’s ex-wife passed away shortly after giving birth to a son, Levi. Despite her aversion to the foster care system, Werts couldn’t ignore the parallels between her childhood and Levi’s situation.
Werts and her husband chose to adopt Levi, officially welcoming him into their family just before his second birthday.
“It was healing and emotional to become a foster parent as a former foster kid,” Werts reflects.
Caring for Levi brought Werts a sense of closure. However, the challenges of parenting a child with a similar history of familial addiction brought its own set of emotional hurdles.
In March 2023, following her father’s death, Werts decided to take a 23andMe DNA test. Her curiosity was sparked by years of feeling different, and her relationship with her father had left unresolved wounds.
“He treated me crummy my entire life. I thought, ‘What if he’s not even my dad?’”
The test results confirmed her suspicions: Werts had no Mexican ancestry. Instead, her genetic makeup revealed Italian, British, and French heritage.
“My heart came out of my chest when I saw the results,” Werts recalls.
Determined to learn more, Werts submitted her DNA sample to Ancestry. The results revealed a biological parent-child relationship with a man who had no memory of Werts’ mother.
“It was a one-night stand in 1973,” she explains. “He’s been married for 50 years and didn’t know I existed.”
Her biological father had gone on to have children a decade later and was a devoted parent to his family. The revelation deeply unsettled him, especially when he learned about Werts’ challenging upbringing.
“He’s screwed up over it because he was such a good dad to his kids,” Werts shares.
The DNA revelations forced Werts to grapple with a shift in her cultural identity. Having grown up surrounded by a large Mexican family, she had deeply identified with her heritage.
“I identified everything with being Mexican,” she says. “Then all of a sudden, I had to mourn a little bit of that identity.”
Despite the upheaval, her Mexican relatives embraced her. Werts’ brother reassured her, saying, “You’re still part of our family.”
Connecting with her biological father brought Werts a sense of belonging she had long sought. She discovered they shared numerous traits, from sensitivity to a shared military background.
“I look like him more than anyone else,” she says.
Her father’s reaction to seeing her photos was one of amazement. “You look so much like my mother,” he told her, deepening the bond between them.
Through viral TikToks and her memoir, Life’s Sad Story, God’s Love Story, Werts has shared her journey of overcoming adversity. Reflecting on her life, she acknowledges the strange mix of pain and gratitude that defines her story.
“If I knew what I have now and had to relive all that, I would probably do it again,” Werts concludes.
Christie Werts' journey raises profound questions about the emotional impact of uncovering hidden truths through DNA testing. Was it beneficial for her to uncover the truth about her biological father, even though it meant revisiting years of trauma and reshaping her identity? Could the validation she gained outweigh the mental health challenges brought on by this discovery?
While the DNA test provided clarity and a sense of belonging, it also unearthed wounds that had long been buried. For anyone considering such a path, it underscores the importance of emotional preparedness and support. Werts' story invites us to reflect on the complexities of truth, family, and resilience—reminding us that while truth can heal, it can also deeply challenge our sense of self.
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