Woman finds out she was married to her father

Devastating discovery

A 60-year-old US woman has discovered that her late husband was in fact her father.

Valerie Spruill of Doyles town, Ohio, learned of her husband’s identity through a DNA test six years after he passed away in 1998, thanks to an uncle who eventually came forward with the truth.

She is now going public with her past with the hope that it will inspire those going through a rough time.

“If I’ve come through this, anyone can come through anything through the help of the Lord,” she told New York Daily News.

The confusion began because she was looked after by her grandparents from three-months-old.

Her mother Christine was a “night lady”. Valerie’s mother and father got together when he was just 15 and the number of children they had is unclear, but she is aware of six brothers, the Daily Mail reported.

She was cared for by her grandparents and her mother visited, although Valerie thought she was a family friend. Aged nine, she was devastated when she found out that Christine — who died in 1984 — had been her mother. It also meant the man she thought
was her father was in fact her grandfather.

But she was not told who her real father was and Valerie later met and married Percy.

Percy worked as a truck driver and a parking-lot attendant. He died in 1998 after a brief illness at the age of 60, but for years, she had heard bizarre rumours about their relationship. 

She finally learned the truth about her marriage from an uncle after Percy died, and confirmed the relationship with a DNA test after finding his hairs on a brush in their room. She does not know for certain that he was aware he had married his daughter, but she said she strongly believes he did know but was simply afraid to tell her.