Sex, Lies & The Truth

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 s...

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 Unit...

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 memento...

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 ...

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 ...

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 grou...

Every so often we hear a story that puts our mouths agape, which is saying something considering the nature of our podcast. You may find this true when you hear how Brad learned of his adoption. Family secrets occur for many reasons and are met with a myriad of responses when an adoptee learns their story for the first time. And sometimes the shock just keeps coming. It certainly did for Brad, an active law enforcement officer, when he learned his biological father’s identity. Trust...

Jodi’s story and candid conversation with Christina continues in this second part to the series. Not one to talk about herself often, Jodi opens up about trust issues she never knew she had and the effects of the discovery on family dynamics that haunt her to this day. If you ever wondered how a therapist would handle upsetting family dynamics, this is your opportunity to compare what you would do. Equal parts heartwarming acceptance from new family, and estrangement from known fa...

In the Season 3 finale, we are pleased to present actor, comic, motivational speaker, author and NPE, Tom Dreesen. Tom began his career as one half of the first black and white comedy duo with Tim Reid, went on to hold roles on tv and film, hosted the Tonight Show in David Letterman’s absence and opened for some of the entertainment industry’s biggest names, including Frank Sinatra whom he developed a very close relationship with. Despite a long list of professional accolad...

Eve Sturges is a therapist who was minding her own business until a life-changing message found its way to her, making her an NPE. She talks about resilience, synchronicity, the inevitability of life-changing news, and the repairs she made with her parents.Learn more about Eve’s LA-based therapy practice at www.evesturges.la and her podcast Everything’s Relative where you listen to podcasts.Do you, or someone you know, want to be featured on an episode of Sex, Lies & the Truth? Get ...

Richard always had a hunch he was not his father's son. This is the story of the ultimate discovery based on intuition and the changes in identity and family dynamics that result. Get to know Richard and his family and how he's dealt with this life changing revelation.If you, or someone you know, would like to be featured on the podcast contact Jodi or Christina at www.sexliesandthetruth.com

As a co-host of the podcast, Jodi has given snippets of her NPE experience alongside the guests, and in the episode with her brother Sean in season one. In this first installment of a multi-part series, we take a deep dive into Jodi's story of TWO NPE revelations with three dads, and how Christina guided her through the process. Jodi speaks candidly about family dynamics and emotional turmoil, giving you a peak behind the curtain, if you will.Jodi merged the personal experience of...

Libby Copeland writes extensively about the NPE experience in her new book The Lost Family. Have questions about the origins of the various commercial DNA testing companies? She's got the answers. Wonder how the discovery of falsified parentage will affect society? Libby's on it. This isn't your typical Sex, Lies and The Truth episode.

Christina and Jodi are back with a new format after a long, unexpected hiatus. Sometimes life gets in the way, which no one understands better than someone who discovered a surprise DNA revelation, like an NPE. Alecia was a woman minding her own business, rehabbing after a significant medical surgery, when she discovered she wasn't the daughter of the man who raised her. The search for her father took some twists and turns, involved rejection, misdirection and eventually a s...

We promised a sequel to Katie and Joe From the Shore and here it is! In this episode, you will learn if Joe is really Katie's father, the fall out with her mom and the lasting impact the discovery has made for Katie - hint - grief isn't just for those who lost someone through death. Be sure to listen to the end for another surprise, this time about Katie herself. We love surprises, now that our own DNA surprises are out of the way!Learn more about Jodi's work with fellow NPE and Parenta...

Our second episode of season two is a fascinating story told by author and NPE, BK. BK is far along in her process of discovering family and identity so tells her story with a soothing calm to make you feel your mind was just massaged. Learn about tenacity, gambling, the importance of the Social Security Administration and what happens when the other shoe drops. If you believe in the paranormal we have an added bit at the end just for you. BK writes as well as she speaks so ...

It’s all in the family with episode 1 of season 2. Karen shares her story of NPE discovery – discovering she Jewish while traveling on a train in Europe, what it was like engaging mom in the truth, and learning about her biological father from three new brothers. One of those brothers shares his discovery of Karen and how he and his siblings found a stronger bond amongst themselves from finding her. Karen’s cousin also shares the perspective of the new family being contacted, with advic...

Jodi calls it intuition, adoption work refers to it as the inalienable bond of biology. The undeniable but perplexing instinct that we don't fit in seems to play a big role in many Parental Identifier/NPE experiences. Sky Nelson-Isaacs, physicist and musician, explains his theory on synchronicity and flow and how it relates to healing the pain of disconnection and grief - central characteristics of discovering misled and falsified parentage.Fresh off the release of his new book, L...

Most people freak out when they discover DNA revelations like your parent really isn't your biological parent. Catherine did that too, but transitioned that feeling into an online support community for Not Parent Expected (what I call Parental Identity Discovery™) called DNA NPE Gateway on Facebook. It has received a ton of national media attention ranging from articles in the Atlantic to appearances on Dr. Oz, CBS This Morning and The Today Show, to name a few.Catherine joins the...

Join the wild and funny ride as we learn from Aaryn the surprising benefits of scouring through phone books to find her biological father. Aaryn has a rich history spanning intergenerational custody, foster care and biological family that will warm your heart. We know not all family relationships are sunshine and roses, but the relationship Aaryn has with her newly discovered biological sister, Jen, is everything you want it to be. If this one doesn't get you wanting to rese...

Jodi discovered her own DNA story in 2017, when she met her older brother, Sean. In this episode Sean talks with the dynamic duo over the phone about the impact of discovering hidden family on the kids and spouses as well as finding his secret sister.Jodi and Sean's story is a happy one, where everyone feels better for having met one another and is nurturing a strong bond. It's unusual in that happy ending, but every happy ending comes with some struggle.Learn more about Jodi's work wit...

Anthony discovers he's Christina's cousin and wins the genealogy jackpot when she tracks down his biological parents. Anthony talks about the outcome of a night on the river, what it feels like to be a secret, and being adopted. Finding biological parents isn't always sunshine and roses; being in reunion is tricky business for some people - especially when they're not honest about the facts.Learn more about Jodi's work with fellow NPE and Parental Identity Discovery™ at www.jkrabb...

Join hip psychotherapist, Jodi Klugman-Rabb and genealogical investigator, Christina Fitzgibbons as they explore the shocking results of DNA discoveries: misled, falsified or hidden parentage of Non-Parental Events (NPE), adoptions and donor conceptions. From sex, to the lie and the eventual truth we explore what makes DNA discoveries and who the real people are behind them.Contact Jodi at www.jkrabb.com or www.parentalidentitydiscovery.com Contact Christina at www.dnasleuth.com or chris...

Meet AJ, an adoptee who survived a heart attack and used it as motivation to find the biological family he always wondered about. He'll explain the process of balancing the known/adoptive family while searching for and meeting the biological family and the amazing outcome. Learn more about AJ's work to help adoptees and support heart health at www.adrianjones.meLearn more about Jodi's work with fellow NPE and Parental Identity Discovery™ at www.jkrabb.com or www.parentalidentitydiscover...

Join hip psychotherapist Jodi Klugman-Rabb, LMFT and Investigative Genealogist Christina Fitzgibbons in their inaugural episode as they explore Jonathon's story of discovering he's the father of a 30 year old woman. Commercial DNA tests reveal falsified, misled or hidden parentage with more frequency; Jonathon's story is from the unique persepctive of the parent learning the truth. From sex, to the lie and the eventual truth we explore what makes Non-Parental Events (NPE) or Parental Identity...