A woman has shared her emotional reunion with her brother after being separated as babies, a story featured on the ITV programme Long Lost Family. Siblings Tegan and Kenneth were initially set to be adopted together, but just a few months later, three-month-old Kenneth was returned to the care system.
The Separation
Tegan, who was only 14 months older than Kenneth, had no memory of her baby brother. She only learned of his existence years later while reading her adoption documents. “Knowing that he didn't stay with me is quite devastating and difficult,” she said. “I was shocked to think he had been there and had then been sent back. Where did he get sent back to? Who took him? Was he taken by social services? I have no idea. I find it sad that we could have been together longer.”
The Search
Determined to find him, Tegan turned to Long Lost Family, presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell. The show's team of intermediaries, DNA experts, and investigators took on the case. They discovered Kenneth had been adopted by a family named the Allens, but his common surname made the search lengthy. After a year of contacting every Kenneth Allen in the UK, they finally located him.
The Reunion
Astonishingly, Kenneth was living just 10 miles away from his sister in London—Tegan in Ealing and Kenneth in Balham. When told he had a sister, Kenneth confessed he “cried for about four hours.” Both siblings described difficult childhoods; Tegan said she “doesn't remember feeling loved,” while Kenneth recalled loneliness as “the epitome of my youth.”
Meeting Face to Face
In heart-wrenching scenes, the two finally met. “I’m super happy to have a blood brother,” Tegan said. “There is a bond between us. I feel at ease with him. I don’t feel like he’s a stranger at all.” Kenneth added: “Just meeting you today has been fantastic... it's a dream come true.”
Long Lost Family airs tonight at 9.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
