A woman who was abandoned at just two-weeks-old has finally met her paternal half-sister on Long Lost Family: What Happened Next.
Joselyn Taylor, in her 60s, from Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, was left at a children’s home as a baby before being adopted by a single mother who ran a sweet shop.
In the ITV programme last year, Joselyn, who had always wondered whether she was abandoned because she is deaf, was reunited with her maternal older half-brother James.
He unveiled the real reason why their mother had to give Joselyn up, explaining that their ‘very, very poor’, unmarried parent couldn’t afford to feed an extra child – despite having ‘two or three jobs sometimes to keep food on the table’.
In last night’s episode, the Long Lost Family team revisited Joselyn as she looked for her late father’s family – eventually meeting her half-sister Trish for the first time in emotional scenes.
A woman who was abandoned at just two-weeks-old has finally met her paternal half-sister (pictured) on Long Lost Family: What Happened Next
Joselyn had a happy childhood, which included being educated at a specialist school for deaf children.
She discovered she had a brother when her adoptive mother Kathleen revealed that Joselyn’s birth mother had once arrived at the sweet shop, asking for money with a five-year-old boy alongside her.
Joselyn previously said: ‘She was obviously very, very poor. My adoptive mother told her to get out of the shop.’
She eventually entered her DNA on a web database and it revealed a sibling called James Ford.
Her attempts to contact James went unanswered so she turned to Long Lost Family for help, and the team eventually discovered James in Carcassonne, France.
James and Joselyn’s mother, Lois Pullman, has passed away. But the two siblings were reunited, with Joselyn saying: ‘I felt an instant connection – he cried, he really cried. It was lovely.’
Following their reunion, Joselyn discovered another DNA match on the database, which eventually resulted in her finding her paternal half-sister Trish with help from the Long Lost Family team.
Unfortunately Joselyn’s father had passed away, but she was able to meet Trish, who also grew up without her father in her life.
Joselyn Taylor, in her 60s, from Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, was left at a children’s home as a baby before being adopted by a single mother who ran a sweet shop
In last night’s episode, the Long Lost Family team revisited Joselyn as she looked for her late father’s family – eventually meeting her half-sister Trish for the first time in emotional scenes
Her twin sister and older brother have passed away, so Trish appeared delighted to find out about Joselyn.
She even discovered that they were born in the same town, saying how they could’ve passed each other on the street without even realising their relationship to one another.
Joselyn was told about the discovery of her half-sister by co-presenter Davina McCall, who explained: ‘[Trish’s] mother was married to your father Peter. They had a boy and then twins, called Trish and Anne. But when the twins were born Peter left.
‘Trish never knew her father. Trish has lost all her siblings, they’ve died,’ continued the presenter, before adding that finding out about Joselyn was a ‘very happy surprise’ for Trish.
Following their emotional meeting, where the two sisters shared a loving hug, Joselyn (pictured right) said: ‘When we hugged, that was it. I felt the warmth of her personality.’
‘I felt connected to my father’s side. My search is finished at last. I’ve got the best of both worlds now,’ Joselyn (pictured at the first meeting) said
Trish (pictured left), meanwhile, added: ‘I’m feeling relief and so so so much happiness in my heart to have met her and to know we get on. Joselyn is a sister to me now, what more could I want.’
Joselyn replied: ‘I grew up as an only child, thinking it was only me. And I get all this. Yeah, that’s lovely. Yes.’
The two were reunited three weeks later, with Trish travelling from Spain for the reunion.
‘Obviously I can’t tell her an awful lot of who her father was as I don’t know myself. I just want her to feel happy and we can see where the future takes us,’ said Trish before the first meeting.
In the ITV programme last year, Joselyn, who had always wondered whether she was abandoned because she is deaf, was reunited with her maternal older half-brother James. Pictured, Joselyn reunited with her brother James
Joselyn (pictured left, as a baby with her adoptive mother) was left at a children’s home before being adopted by a single mother who ran a sweet shop. Pictured right, Joselyn’s birth mother
Joselyn (pictured with her adoptive mother) had a happy childhood, which included being educated at a specialist school for deaf children
Following their emotional meeting, where the two sisters shared a loving hug, Joselyn said: ‘When we hugged, that was it. I felt the warmth of her personality.
‘I felt connected to my father’s side. My search is finished at last. I’ve got the best of both worlds now.’
Trish, meanwhile, added: ‘I’m feeling relief and so so so much happiness in my heart to have met her and to know we get on. Joselyn is a sister to me now, what more could I want.’
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