Rhianna Benson
A woman who submitted her DNA for genetic testing 'on a whim' could never have predicted that the results would change her life forever.
Kate (known as @juust_kate on TikTok) took the video-sharing app recently with a 'story time' that blew the minds of millions of her followers, whom she discouraged from following in her footsteps.
The social media star began her revelation by informing her fans she'd been born in France to parents that hailed from Portugal.
Like many youngsters, she developed a passion for ancient history, more specifically the quaint and mysterious era of Egyptian rule. She even visited the North African country on a trip that caused her to fall 'even more in love with the country, the culture, the food, the people'.
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Another aspect of her fascination with Egypt stemmed from the fact she was often asked if she had relatives that were born there, due to her tan skin tone, thick brunette hair and dark eyes.
"People would say I looked more Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Moroccan, Tunisian, Greek," she explained.
Kate added that she also looked very different from her blonde-haired, blue-eyed siblings, who she says are prone to burning in the sun whilst she turns a shade of olive.
So much so, that she says her mother often nicknamed her 'little Cleopatra' as a youngster.
Driven by curiosity and tempted by adverts for DNA testing, she sent off some samples, hoping to gain an extra insight into her heritage.
The results - which arrived six weeks later - firstly revealed that she's a staggering 58.4 per cent Egyptian, and only 22.9 per cent Portuguese.
Kate also boasted 14.1 per cent South Italian ancestry, and 4.6 per cent Algerian.
Speaking to her TikTok followers, Kate confessed: "This was not what I expected. "I thought it would be 85% Portuguese and the rest North African."
The online star also broached the subject of the results with her mother, who reportedly replied, 'We are all children of the world. We’re all connected', and encouraged her to put the matter to bed.
Kate did this for two years, until she suddenly received a text message in 2022 from a stranger claiming the man she believed to be her dad was not, and insisting they know her biological father.
Taking to TikTok again, she explained: "Suddenly, I found out that I had been lied to about my paternity for my entire existence, and that life was about to change forever.
She later discovered that her father was actually an Egyptian man, and not the Portuguese man she'd down up with.
Sadly, Kate also found out during her investigation that her real father had died in the years since her birth.
"All of a sudden I was grieving someone I would never meet," she confessed. "That was the hardest pill to swallow.
"Lost in heartbreak and confusion like I had never been before and nothing would make it go away."
That said, however, Kate later developed into her father's family, learning quickly that she had three siblings that still live in Egypt.
"I gained a beautiful new family," she explained. "Three amazing siblings in Egypt, who I love very much."