After 55 Years, I Finally Learned Who My Father Was — And Found a Sister

I always knew there was something different about my story. Growing up in France, Belgium, and Africa, I often wondered about my origins. Every time I visited my maternal grandmother in Southern France, she would whisper that the man I called “Papa” wasn’t really my father. I was under 10 the first time she said it, and I brushed it off, thinking she was just being mean. But the thought stuck with me — especially since I didn’t look like anyone in my family. People often said I looked Italian.

Sandrine Berthoumieu

My father died when I was 11, leaving me with more questions than answers. Every time I asked my mother if he was really my father, she’d always insist that he was. She remarried and had another child — my half-brother — but I never stopped wondering. Whenever I visited Southern France, I’d find myself scanning the faces of men, wondering, “Could this one be my father?”

The truth comes out

When I was 18, I moved to Fleuris, where I currently live. A year ago, my mother finally admitted that my father wasn’t my biological father — but she refused to give me any more details. I felt a deep need to find the truth, not just for myself, but for my 18-year-old son as well.

One day, while watching a show, I saw a woman who had found her father thanks to a DNA test. That gave me the push I needed. I ordered a MyHeritage DNA kit and, with a mix of hope and superstition, sent it off.

When my results arrived on January 12, 2025, my heart pounded. My ethnicity estimate showed I was half Italian — a detail that made sense in light of all those comments about my looks — but that wasn’t all. I had a 24.6% DNA match with a woman named Sofia Caravaggi in Sweden. The estimated relationship: niece or half-sister.

I reached out to her immediately. Minutes later, Sofia replied, asking where and when I was born, and where my mother was from. Then came the message that turned my world upside down:

“You are my half-sister. My dad is your dad.”

The father we share

Our father was named Giancarlo Caravaggi, and he died in 2012 at the age of 65.

I learned that he’d moved to Stockholm in 1970 and worked at the French embassy. That’s where he met Sofia’s mother. Sofia, now 42, works in product development and has two young children.

When I was around 5 or 6, my grandmother had sent Giancarlo a letter in Stockholm with a school photo of me. She wrote that he had a daughter, but didn’t include any contact details — no name, no address. He couldn’t have known that my mother moved us to Belgium and even lived in Africa for a while. According to Sofia, her mother remembered that Giancarlo was so proud and happy when he got that news. He had the photo enlarged and kept it in his study all his life. Sofia told me: “My entire life, there was a picture of this girl. My dad told me the story, so I always knew she existed.”

Finding each other

When Sofia and I first connected, I was afraid she might be angry or upset. Instead, she told me she’d been hoping to find me — she had taken the MyHeritage test hoping to discover her half-sister. We began talking every day on Messenger. That first week, we spent hours and hours learning about each other. We discovered so many similarities: we both love chocolate, and we both had our first children at 38. When I saw photos of Giancarlo’s sister, Giuliana, who passed away two years ago, I was shocked by how much I look like her.

Giancarlo with his sister, Giuliana, and baby Sofia

Sofia confessed she’d always feared I might be angry with our father for leaving. But I wasn’t angry. I just felt relief that the mystery was finally solved. When I look at photos of Giancarlo now, I see myself, and I see my son. Sofia looks at photos of my son and says it’s like seeing her own son — just older. It’s incredible how strong the family resemblance is.

Moving forward

In April 2025, just a few months after we first connected, Sofia traveled from Stockholm with her 6-year-old daughter to meet me for the very first time. The moment we hugged, all the years of questions, wondering, and imagining melted away. You can watch that incredible moment in the video below:

After 55 years, I finally know who my father is — and that I have a sister. 

Sandrine (right) and Sofia

Sandrine with her newfound sister and niece

Sofia shared how she’d always hoped to find me. She said: “My mom always told me, ‘You have to take this DNA test. What if you find someone on your dad’s side?’ I was hoping to find my sister. I was just afraid that she might be angry with my dad and not want to connect. But instead, we found each other.”

Since we met, we talk every day, and it’s like we’ve known each other forever. I can’t wait to see her again — and to keep building the bond we’ve started.

Thank you, thank you, thank you — MyHeritage made this possible.

Many thanks to Sandrine Berthoumieu and Sofia Caravaggi for sharing their incredible story with us. If you have also made an incredible discovery with MyHeritage, we’d love to hear about it! Please send it to us via this form or email it to us at stories@myheritage.com.