Conveying unexpected news is never easy, and it's natural to feel uncertain going into it. The world of DNA testing and surprise DNA discoveries has made ‘breaking the news’ a new part of life for many people.

John’s story starts with a personal medical crisis leading to a decision to search for information about his biological parentage. It ends with him embracing the truth of his biological origins, a situation that many others in the same shoes have struggled to accept because of society’s stigma around conceptions between parents who are related to each other.

Imagine sitting in a restaurant waiting for your dinner date to arrive and finding out from your iPhone that half of your family is not what you expected. Then heading to the bathroom to call Ancestry and ask, "Could this be wrong?"

"Genealogical bewilderment" and "identity disruption" are two terms to understand if you're an NPE or are connected to one in your circle of friends and family.

The most common FIRST question I am asked as a genetic counselor and DNA coach working with those in NPE situations. That first question is most commonly, “Could the DNA test be wrong?”

The shock of an unexpected DNA family member can cause people to react in different ways.

The purpose of this quick guide is to answer the single most common question I hear from people who have recently received a DNA test result that does not match expectations.

More people every day are discovering unexpected news about their parentage as a result of consumer DNA tests. As a licensed and certified genetic counselor specializing in ancestry testing, I have more and more people reach out to me wondering could it be true my dad’s not my dad? If so, then who IS?

Do you call them biological fathers? Birth dads? Found fathers, discovered dads, sires, or “men who fathered a child they were not aware of”?

Sometimes 23andMe reports an inaccurate DNA relationship between two testers. A half sibling is not always a half sibling. It could be a cousin, for example.