Sisters Meet For The First Time In Their 50s Thanks To Online Genealogy Service

Two sisters in their 50s got to meet for the very first time after a genealogy service brought them together.

59-year-old Diane Ward and 56-year-old Mary McLaughlin grew up in a similar area but their paths never crossed.

Both women were born in Michigan to the same mother but they were adopted and each thought they were an only child.

According to My Heritage, Diane knew she was adopted but she didn’t know anything about her biological mom. She loved her adoptive family, but always wondered about her biological side.

Mary was adopted in a less conventional way. Her mom was raising her, but she took Mary to a babysitter’s house and “didn’t return one day.” The sitter ended up adopting Mary.

Mary’s biological mom eventually passed away, leaving behind a huge secret: she’d had more than one daughter.

It was actually Diane who made the discovery. Having no knowledge of her biological family, she decided to purchase a DNA testing and genealogy search on MyHeritage.com.

According to People, Diane explained, “When I went looking for family members, I always thought of mother, father — that kind of thing. I never thought of siblings. It just didn’t occur to me.”

Diane ended up connecting with Mary through a cousin she found on MyHeritage.com. Once Mary got a DNA test done for herself, they were able to confirm their relationship: half-sisters with the same mother.

The two decided to meet up in person at the Charlotte airport in North Carolina. After so many years apart, the sisters were able to instantly bond and found that sisterly connection they always longed for but never had.

You can watch their reunion in the video below:

“We were like peanut butter and jelly,” Mary said.

The two plan to keep their relationship up and visit each other more often moving forward.