Kate took a DNA test as a bit of fun and to prove people wrong about her family background – but it uncovered a devastating family secret that turned out to change her life forever
A millennial woman who took a DNA test for a bit of fun has issued a stark warning to others: don’t do it unless you’re prepared for potentially life-altering results. Kate, known as @juust_kate on TikTok, revealed that the DNA test “changed her life forever,” explaining she was “born in France to Portuguese parents”, but she always had a fascination with Ancient Egypt, to the point she referred to it as an obsession.
As an adult, she embarked on a trip to Egypt and found herself falling even deeper in love with the country’s culture, cuisine, people, the lot Post-trip, curiosity piqued, she decided to take a DNA test. She’d been puzzled by people’s disbelief when she told them she was Portuguese.
People would often suggest she looked “more Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Moroccan, Tunisian, Greek,” rather than Portuguese. This constant questioning was “always on her mind” and left her feeling “frustrated”.
After all, she was the “only brunette” in her family. Her siblings, all “blonde with blue eyes,” would burn in the sun, unlike her, who tanned easily.
This added to her confusion. Her mum even used to affectionately call her “little Cleopatra” during her childhood.
So, in 2019, driven by curiosity, she took the plunge and did the test, waiting “about six weeks for the results”. But when the results came back, her world was turned upside down forever.
Her DNA test results showed she was 58.4 per cent Egyptian, 22.9 per cent Portuguese, 14.1 per cent South Italian, and 4.6 per cent Algerian.
This was not what I expected,” Kate admitted, having anticipated an 85 per cent Portuguese heritage with the rest being North African.
Discussing the DNA findings with her mum, she received a vague response about us all being “children of the world” and “all connected”.
When asked if there were any other revelations, Kate replied in the negative, leading to her mum falling silent and the topic being dropped.
However, in 2022, while doing her nails, Kate received a mysterious message from a woman claiming to know her father, prompting some serious questions for her mum.
In a separate TikTok post, Kate revealed: “Suddenly, I found out that I had been lied to about my paternity for my entire existence, and that life was about to change forever.
“My biological father was someone from Egypt who had already passed away before everything came to light.
“All of a sudden I was grieving someone I would never meet.
That was the hardest pill to swallow. Lost in heartbreak and confusion like I had never been before and nothing would make it go away”.
Despite the pain, she shared that she’d gained “a beautiful new family” and “three amazing siblings in Egypt,” whom Kate said she cherishes deeply.
She mentioned that they’re “not strangers anymore” and are “making up for lost time” during her visits.
