Man Does DNA Test—Shocking Results Lead Him On Quest To Discover Truth

Jack Steele had come to feel like pretty much everyone in his family had taken a DNA test for the American genealogy firm Ancestry—a lineage tracing service that promises to match new contributors up to existing users in its database.

The emergency medical technician-turned-comedian's relatives had all received fairly predictable results when they received notice from the service that their DNA had been assessed. Steele, who is based in Ohio, had no reason to think that his situation would be any different, but a startling revelation about his family origins quickly changed the story—and he's now on a quest to uncover the truth.

Steele, who has always considered himself part of a large and close-knit family, had decided to take the DNA test through Ancestry because both his maternal and paternal family histories were documented on the platform. The results, however, took an unexpected turn.

"My DNA came back telling me that I'm not related to my dad, or to his entire side of the family," Steele shared with Newsweek. He added, "We haven't found anything else out yet, but we are still searching and it seems like the world is searching with us."

Steele has decided to share his story online in the hope of getting advice or guidance from others who had once been met with a similar surprise. With a large online following thanks to his comedy stints, the medic's story quickly resonated with many—some of whom have prompted him to seek out the support of DNA Angels, a different service that seeks to match people up with their biological relatives.

The revelation came as a shock not just to Steele but also to his family. Upon speaking to his mother about the test results, she responded that she wasn't surprised and hinted at knowing more about the true identity of her son's biological father than those who had assessed his DNA.

Steele recounted the conversation: "I told my mom about all of this and she said, well I know who your dad is, and I replied, sweet because the DNA doesn't."

The comedian revealed in a new video, which he had shared to TikTok yesterday, that he'd since managed to track down a few relatives on his paternal side using the same DNA testing service that had delivered his shocking news to him in the first place.

He soon matched with a "first cousin", who he recalled had never heard of the man that Steele had always been told was his biological father. That particular cousin had also never heard of any of Steele's relatives, who he'd previously believed were family members on his biologically paternal side.

The comedian also tracked down someone who the testing service has labeled as being a "paternal brother", but was unable to connect with that individual due to their lack of activity on the database. He's now imploring the general public to help push his story out virtually and propel him forward into his search for the secrets of his past.

Since Steele first took to TikTok last week, the candid video that he had filmed while walking down an Ohio street has sparked discussion and support from viewers who had once found themselves in a similarly life-altering predicament.

"I found out at the tender age of 50 that my father was not my father. I unlocked a whole new family secret," one user shared.

Another revealed: "Baby, same here, and I did both Ancestry and 23andMe, and I haven't learned anything! Now my biological dad, supposedly has seven kids by seven different baby mommas, none of them have been found on either site."

"I found a cousin that we never met because her mother took her and disappeared and lied to her about who her real dad was," a third user voiced.

The comedian's unexpected moment of internet fame has highlighted both the emotional impact of DNA testing on personal identities and the emotional journey involved in uncovering such deep-seated family secrets.

Steele follows in a long line of individuals who had been fed difficult information through DNA testing services or had long suspected that something wasn't quite right and taken matters into their own hands to hunt for the truth.

Steele is now embarking on a journey to uncover more about his biological father, or as he puts it in his video, "what happened to his DNA". He isn't yet sure of the path he will take to get answers, but as with many other modern-day searches, social media may serve as a reasonable place to start.

Can Social Media Connect Long Lost Relatives?

A few platforms recently came in handy in reuniting two twin sisters in Georgia, at the intersection between Europe and Asia in the Caucasus mountains. The young women, Amy Kvitia and Ano Sartania, had been separated and sold at birth from the now-defunct maternity ward in Kirtskhi where they were born, BBC reported.

The pair each went on to lead separate lives until Kvitia shared a video of herself to TikTok which grabbed the attention of Satania and her friends, prompting the two women who initially thought they were just doppelgangers to meet.

After discovering that they were in fact twins, despite the opposing dates that had been written on their birth certificates, the siblings joined a Facebook group with more than 200,000 members that had been set up by a Georgian journalist to help missing relatives reconnect.

The Facebook group termed, Vedzeb, which means "I'm searching" in Georgian, had been set up by Tamuna Museridze in 2021. The virtual group is brimming with posts from mothers voicing that the hospital staff they'd crossed paths with while having their children had later told them that their babies had died and that they'd later discovered that their deaths had not been recorded.

Other posts came from children, like the twins, who were searching for their biological parents. The pair eventually reunited with their birth mother in January, making headlines around the world in the process. Museridze's social media group, which had initially been propped up to help Georgians find their missing relatives, soon exposed a baby trafficking scandal that engulfed all corners of Georgia between the 1950s and 2005.

In 2023, a Utah-based substitute teacher named Benjamin Hulleberg made headlines after he reunited with his birth mother following a Facebook message that she'd sent him out of the blue that previous fall.

In 2022, Newsweek reported on two different families who had managed to track down biological relatives, one using a DNA testing service, while each shared their tear-jerking reunions on social media afterward.

As for Steele, the comedian remains hopeful that sharing his story online will aid in connecting the dots in his lineage.

If you have a family dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.