Two Sisters Were Separated, But Then An Odd Twist Of Fate Brought Them Face To Face 73 Years Later

Unfortunately, circumstances got in the way of that meeting. The pandemic reared its head and meant people’s ability to travel was put on hold. There was just no way for Harriet and Linda to get to one another. The only thing for it, then, was to keep in touch by chatting on the phone.

That must have been frustrating, as they had an awful lot to discuss and — and speaking in person would have been preferable. Everyone else was in the same boat, of course, so they just had to be patient. That can’t have been easy, though, considering what they’d learned about each other.

After both independently registering for a website to learn about their ancestors, the women got more than they bargained for. After each providing the site with their DNA, the women were surely looking forward to seeing the types of people in their family who’d come before them. But they can’t have been ready for what the results would reveal about relatives in the here and now.

Thanks to the website, Harriet came to realize something huge. She had a sister she’d never known about, in all of her 76 years of life. How could this be true? She had to know more, so she found the details of this supposed sibling and fired off a message. Linda was on the other end, and together they worked out the truth.

Harriet and Linda are just two of an ever-growing number of people whose lives have been changed forever thanks to genealogy websites and DNA tests we can take at home. Before these things became so popular in recent years, stories of long-lost siblings meeting for the first time were understandably rare. Nowadays, they’re much more common.

Of course, that isn’t always a good thing. A lot of people who have relatives they didn’t know about might not necessarily want to meet that person who’s suddenly come out of the woodwork. Discovering a bombshell as significant and life-changing as something like this, after all, can be absolutely devastating.

Just last year, for instance, a story started circulating online that highlights just how badly finding unknown relatives can go. Basically, a woman had recently made a revelation that totally rocked her world and she needed advice. She’d learned the identity of one of her fourth cousins — it was her boyfriend.

Still, for every horror story like that one, there’s another where everything works out. Over in England not too long ago, a woman’s heartbreaking story came to light in the press. She’d been forced as a young woman to give up her baby, which must have been horrendous. But thanks to at-home DNA kits, she finally managed to track down this child and meet him — 66 years after the pair were separated.

Things thankfully worked out for that woman, after such a tough experience all those decades ago. But how would it go for Harriet and Linda? Learning about each other’s existence after more than 70 years must have come as quite a shock to them both: how would they take it?

Thanks to a broadcast on KMGH, we got our answer. This footage was shot at Denver International Airport, where Linda was waiting for Harriet to touch down. Linda, it is clear to see in the clip, is in very high spirits. She beams, “I’m so excited. I can imagine what she’s thinking.”

As previously mentioned, thanks to the pandemic, this meeting has been a long time coming. It’s been almost two years since they made the shocking discovery that they were sisters, but they hadn’t sat idly by during that period. They’d been proactive about figuring out what had happened in their childhood — and now they knew the full story.

When the sisters’ mom and dad were still just teenagers, their mother had fallen pregnant with Harriet. By the time the baby was born, the pair were only 18 and weren’t in a position to raise the child, so she was put up for adoption. A few years later, the couple had another baby — Linda — but this time they brought her up. They never revealed the truth about their first child, and they both passed away holding onto the secret.

But now, aged 76 and 73 respectively, Harriet and Linda would finally get to meet. At the airport that day, Linda tells the KMGH crew, “I had a message from Harriet saying, ‘I think we might be related.’ We were [a] 100 percent match, but our parents never told a soul, ever.”

The sisters weren’t complete strangers by this point, of course, as they’d maintained regular contact over the two years leading up to this face-to-face meeting. But now, after Harriet had set off from Sacramento, she’d touched down in Denver. It was finally time to hug and say hello in person.

The film crew captures Linda’s reaction as she lays eyes upon her sister for the first time. “Oh my God, that’s her!” she says excitedly. “Let me see you.” Right away, the two are blown away by how similar in appearance they are. As Linda exclaims, “You do look like me!”

But it wasn’t just that the sisters looked like each other. Linda also sees someone else in Harriet, noting how closely she resembles their mother. As she tells her newly discovered sibling, “I can’t believe how much you look like my mom — our mom... I can’t quit staring at you.”

The two sisters are clearly delighted to finally meet one another, but there is a touch of melancholy about the situation, too. After all, one of the women had known their parents and the other hadn’t. Linda acknowledges this after showing Harriet some photos of the family, noting, “This picture’s sad because you’re not in it.”

Still, what’s done is done, and Harriet and Linda are happy to carry on with things. Before long, Linda is leading her sister to her home. Because this all happens in December, the house is naturally decorated ready for Christmas. It’s as festive an occasion as one could imagine.

The two women are delighted with how things worked out, even though it has taken so long for them to meet. As Linda tells KMGH, “I think we found each other when we were supposed to.” Harriet, for her part, is in total agreement. She says, “Oh, everything happens when it’s supposed to, anyway.”

And it would seem like that was true for Cheryl Becker as well. In a situation that Harriet and Linda would surely relate to, Cheryl learned that much of what she thought she knew about her family was false. It all came to light after she underwent a DNA test. She was left confused and heartbroken, but she also learned something that pushed her life in the most unexpected of directions.

Before all this, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary for Cheryl — and there was no sign of what was to come. She had a job at a medical facility in Connecticut. And at home, she lived a happy life with her partner Ralph. Everything looked good. Plus, to help her through the work day, she had someone to lean on at the hospital as well.

Yes, Cheryl became pals with a colleague at the facility. Her name is Linda Rinaldi. The pair formed a strong bond at the time, which no doubt made their shifts a bit easier. In fact, a life-long friendship appeared to be brewing. Yet one decision put paid to that.

Linda opted to say goodbye to the area, bringing her spell at the hospital to a close. In addition to that, she eventually lost contact with Cheryl, too. That couldn’t have been easy for either of them. Still, though, the former local resident didn’t forget about her old pal.

Yep, Linda had some really kind words for Cheryl while speaking to TODAY in December 2021. She revealed, “She’s always been the nicest person I’ve ever known.” Talk about high praise! Anyway, despite drifting apart all those years ago, the pair would be reunited under the craziest of circumstances.

In the years after Linda moved away, Cheryl continued to enjoy her home-life with Ralph, and the ex-hospital worker had a drama-free spell across the next several years. Things seemed pretty chill. But a seemingly innocuous turn of events threw all of that up in the air.

Ralph began to develop a fascination with genealogy in his free time. It’s a rabbit-hole many people fall down, especially if they’re eager to learn more about their past. Mind you, he didn’t just want to experience this for himself. Cheryl’s hubby hoped to bring her into the fold as well.

On that note, Ralph handed his wife a present — it was a DNA test. Cheryl already had a good idea of her background, but was still intrigued by what the kit could uncover. Maybe there was a corner of the family tree she didn’t know about? So, she took the plunge.

No one could’ve predicted what happened next, though. Prior to taking the test, Cheryl was under the assumption that she had ties to both France and Italy. Yet the information that came back to her and Ralph suggested that wasn’t entirely accurate. And it left the former hospital employee dumbfounded.

To go into more detail, Cheryl sat down with TV show TODAY in December 2021. She recalled, “It was telling me I was from the British Isles. It didn’t specifically say Ireland, it didn’t say that I was totally Irish. But it didn’t tell me I was Italian, and that was all I knew.”

Just like that, Cheryl’s world had been turned upside down. Her entire past had suddenly been thrown into question, and it didn’t leave her in the best of mental spaces. Who wouldn’t be devastated by that news? It was a lot to take in. She offered some additional insight on the matter during her chat with TODAY.

“I didn’t know who I was,” Cheryl noted. “I looked in the mirror and said, ‘Who am I?’ So it was hard for me.” And the complications didn’t end there, either. As a result of the discovery, she had to come to terms with what that meant for her parents.

Yes, according to the test results, Cheryl’s dad wasn’t a blood relation, even though he had cared for her throughout her childhood. Clearly devastated by this state of affairs, she remarked, “I don’t think he ever knew that [he wasn’t my real father].” 

Of course, Cheryl’s story is a perfect example of the hazards that can accompany taking DNA tests. Sure, the results can bring about some wonderful discoveries, but there is a flipside to that. There’s always a slim chance of finding out stuff that could potentially tear families and relationships apart.

And as we’ve seen with Cheryl, the mental strain of dealing with shocking results is also a big issue. Feelings of stress, guilt, anxiety, and anger can bubble to the surface, and some might find that too much to bear. Who’d have thought the truth could come with such a heavy price?

Anyway, after the initial shock wore off for Cheryl, something interesting came to light. As she dived into the information provided to her, a long-lost relative was revealed. Suddenly, Ralph’s partner perked up and became very curious. Could some good news finally be on the horizon? 

Upon closer inspection, Cheryl realized that this person wasn’t actually “long-lost” or a distant relative at all. In fact, the ex-hospital worker recognized the name almost instantly. Who could it be? She looked back on that moment while speaking to TODAY. 

Cheryl recalled, “It said I was closely related to this person Linda Rinaldi. I said to my husband, ‘I used to work with Linda Rinaldi.’ I could tell it was the same person. It just said, ‘Closely related or first cousin.’” What are the chances of that?

And after casting her mind back to their time at the medical facility in Connecticut, a memory emerged for Cheryl. She continued, “There was just something about [Linda that] I was drawn to. For some reason, I just felt this connection to her, I don’t know what it was.” Now we do!

So Cheryl’s next move was clear to her — she knew she had to get in contact with Linda right away. Once she’d obtained her number, she fired over a message to her ex-colleague. As for what it said, the latter shared the details with TODAY. It had been a really heartwarming exchange.

Linda stated, “[Cheryl] said we were related, that’s all she told me. I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if we were sisters?’ And she says, ‘I know you’re my sister.’” Was Cheryl correct on that front, though? Maybe their old friendship played a role in her coming to that conclusion?

Well, after the duo reconnected following years apart, they underwent a different DNA test to understand exactly what their relationship was. And as it turned out, Cheryl was on the money! Yes, she and Linda were half-sisters, with a 16-month gap between their respective births. It was like something out of a Hollywood movie!

So what does that say about Cheryl and Linda’s respective family histories, then? Which figure from their past connected them? With the knowledge she now had of her childhood “dad,” the former concluded that they had the same father. He was married to Linda’s mother, before apparently engaging in an affair with Cheryl’s parent.

Mind you, as sure as Linda and Cheryl both were about the circumstances, they couldn’t get concrete confirmation. Why? Well, unfortunately for the two women, their folks had passed away by the time they took the DNA tests. So a lot of questions will sadly remain unanswered.

As for their reactions to the big news, Linda had this to say to TODAY. She joked, “I never thought I’d find anybody with a sense of humor like mine!” The former hospital worker was delighted to have a sibling in her life following close to seven decades without one.

Meanwhile, Cheryl’s response was a bit more emotional in comparison. You see, she hadn’t forgotten about the stress and sadness that had come from that first DNA test which Ralph handed to her. But with Linda back in her life, there was now light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Cheryl said, “This is a blessing. Meeting Linda had a lot to do with [finding myself again]. The fact that she welcomed me with open arms. I think that was the turning point for me.” At that stage, the Connecticut resident burst into tears, unable to hold it in any longer.

The raw emotions involved were on full display here. Despite Cheryl’s tears, though, she was able to proudly state “who” she is today. She beamed, “I’m Linda’s sister. This is the best outcome.” Is anyone else getting a little misty-eyed now, or is it just us?

Once TODAY shared this incredible story online, some other notable outlets picked up on it as well. For instance, the websites of British newspapers The Sun and Daily Mail covered it in December 2021. Yep, Cheryl and Linda were making international headlines! As for the responses from users, the Daily Mail article generated a few comments.

One contributor went on to agree with Cheryl’s earlier assessment, writing, “What a beautiful result.” Elsewhere, a different user said, “[I’m] glad they finally found each other.” But among all the other comments, one stood out from the crowd: this individual touched on their own experiences with DNA tests.

The user wrote, “[This is a] wonderful story. DNA has also united members of my family who didn’t know the other existed until the test. On the downside, another relative discovered the son he raised for 19 years was not his son after all. Everything changed, and not for the better in that instance.”

All of the above shows that Cheryl was far from the only person out there to experience the tremendous highs and lows of such tests. And on that note the online user made an intriguing final point. They added, “I’m sure these stories are happening all over the world these days.” It does make you think!

Going back to Linda and Cheryl, though, what are their future plans now that they know they’re half-sisters? Well, while sitting down together at a kitchen table bathed in sunlight, the latter made her hopes very clear.

As captured by TODAY’s cameras, Cheryl says to Linda, “Well, we’ve lost the last 30 years. But we’ve got the next 30, and you better promise me [you’ll still be here]! We have to make memories like sisters do.” Something tells us that they’ll no doubt relish every second they have together.