Emotional moment Scottish woman, 51, whose birth mother refused contact with her is finally reunited with her late biological father’s Native American relatives on Long Lost Family
- Paula Stillie, 51, of Buckie in Scotland, appeared on Long Lost Family last night
- She was searching for her biological parents and discovered her birth mother
- However, the woman didn’t want to speak with Paula but did offer father’s name
- Long Lost Family team discovered Paula’s late birth father was Native American
- Paula ‘remembers covering herself in talcum powder’ to be like white mother
Long Lost Family viewers were left in tears after a woman discovered the astonishing truth about her birth father.
Paula Stillie, 51, from Buckie in Scotland, appeared on the ITV programme last night and described how she struggled growing up with a different skin colour from her adoptive white family.
She recalled how she covered her skin in talcum powder as a child to be like her white adoptive mother and experienced racism that made it all the more difficult growing up.
But Paula was left gobsmacked after being told her birth father was Native American before meeting her paternal aunts and uncles on the show – which left viewers in tears following the heartwarming introductions.
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Long Lost Family viewers were left in tears after a woman (pictured) discovered the astonishing truth about her birth father
Paula Stillie, 51, from Buckie in Scotland, appeared on the ITV programme last night and met her biological father’s Native American relatives (pictured)
Speaking about her search to find her biological family, Paula explained: ‘I don’t know where I come from. What are my roots? Who do I look like?
‘I don’t feel as if I’ve got an anchor in life, I could come from anywhere in the world. I just don’t know.’
Despite having a happy childhood with her adoptive parents Joyce and Jim Stillie, she confessed that she was always questioning why she looked different to her family.
‘Being adopted you’re different, but also of mixed race as well makes you even more different,’ she explained. ‘Why did I have a different skin colour to my mum and dad?’
She continued: ‘I can remember covering myself in talcum powder from head-to-toe and Mum came in and I said, “I’m the same colour as you mum, I’m white”. I think that broke her heart.’
Paula was left gobsmacked after being told her birth father (pictured) was Native American before meeting her paternal aunts and uncles on the show – which left viewers in tears following the heartwarming introductions
Paula (pictured with her adoptive mother as a baby) described how she struggled growing up with a different skin colour from her adoptive white family
Paula (pictured as a baby, left, and as a child, right) recalled how she covered her skin in talcum powder as a child to be like her white adoptive mother and experienced racism that made it all the more difficult growing up
Paula, who is now happily married to husband Euan and the owner of a bed and breakfast in Scotland, told her son Kyle, 26, that she experienced racism as a child.
She was desperate to try and find where her roots were from, leading her to get in touch with the Long Lost Family team.
Researchers were soon able to find Paula’s white British mother in England, but she refused any contact with her daughter – instead only offering some information about Paula’s father – an American man called Larry Smith.
‘It’s a real longing within me to find my birth father. There’s a whole other world out there that I don’t know about that involves me,’ Paula said.
Her father had travelled to England with the navy for a short period of time, but he was difficult to track down so the Long Lost Family team turned to DNA testing.
Paula (pictured as a youngster with her adoptive father), who is now happily married to husband Euan and the owner of a bed and breakfast in Scotland, told her son Kyle, 26, that she experienced racism as a child
Speaking about her search to find her biological family, Paula (pictured) explained: ‘I don’t know where I come from. What are my roots? Who do I look like?’
They discovered a distant match with a man named Joe, whose family tree, which was registered online, revealed Paula’s paternal relatives were Native American.
The tree also included a man called Lawrence – known to his family as John – who was Paula’s father. However, he tragically passed away in 1982.
Thankfully, researchers were able to discover Lawrence’s younger brother Joe, who lives in Montana with the rest of the family.
Joe revealed to co-presenter Nicky Campbell that his sibling, who had no other children, never knew he had a daughter, but would have tried to find her had he have known.
Reaction: The relatives met for the first time via video call, with viewers left emotional by the introduction
Paula’s uncle Joe also explained that his grandfather George was part of the Comanche tribe in Oklahoma.
Paula’s aunts and uncles Joe, Mary Louise, Nancy and Richard were keen to meet their new niece and welcome her, with Joe saying she was ‘bringing John back to the family’.
The relatives met for the first time via video call, with viewers left emotional by the introduction, with one writing: ‘Tonight with the sisters and the Montana aunts and uncles. I’m not crying, you’re crying.’
Another said: ‘Paula’s new found relatives are such beautiful people. I feel so happy for Paula and that she knows that she is loved.’
A third added: ‘Long Lost Family was excellent tonight. Especially the Native American one. Truly heartwarming.’
At the end of the episode, a beaming Paula said: ‘I can’t describe how happy I am. I belong somewhere. It’s the start of a new chapter and it’s going to be incredible.’
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