Long-lost siblings reunite after 16-year-old’s baby was ‘cruelly’ taken away from her-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

A woman who discovered her mother had to give up her firstborn due to poverty has finally reunited with her brother decades later.

In 1960 Diane, a 16-year-old living in Salisbury, found herself pregnant.

One of nine children, her parents were already struggling to feed their family.

So, a week after Diane eventually gave birth, she was told there was no other choice but than to give her son, who she’d named Richard, for adoption.

Diane later went on to have another four children but kept the existence of her first-born a secret for years.

After suffering a breakdown, Diane eventually decided to share the heartbreaking decision she’d been forced to make as a teenager.

Tracey Boyle discovered she had an older brother when she was in her 30s (Picture: ITV)

By this point her daughter Tracey Boyle was in her 30s. The revelation came as a complete shock.

‘I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. I never thought there was another brother. Never ever,’ she said.

In 2015, after a battle with leukaemia, Diane died.

‘She died with all of that heartache and pain inside her,’ her daughter said.

The following year Tracey faced a shocking trauma of her own when her 25-year-old son died in his sleep.

Tracey, from Port Talbot in Wales, turned to Long Lost Family to help track him down (Picture: ITV)

It was after this that Tracey decided she wanted to finally track down her older brother, turning to the ITV programme Long Lost Family for help.

‘It hit home for me how my mother felt and then I was determined to find him’’ she explained.

Her journey to find her brother was documented on last night’s episode, with Tracey speaking about the hardship her mother faced growing up.

‘It must have been horrendous for my mother being pregnant at that age,’ she considered.

‘I don’t think they had enough money to feed another mouth.

Her mum Diane was just 16 when she gave birth, but was forced to give her son up (Picture: ITV)

Diane died in 2015 after a battle with cancer (Picture: ITV)

‘They made the decision for her. It must have ripped her apart.’

So, when the team at Long Lost Family told Tracey they had found her brother, she was overjoyed.

After being adopted, Richard was renamed Keith Tindall, and is now a bricklayer living in Romford, Essex.

He had tried looking for his birth mother when he was 18, but details on the birth certificate didn’t give much away.

Keith didn’t have the ‘best’ adoption and said that while he always had a roof over his head and a full belly, he didn’t feel like he was loved.

Tracey was eventually reunited with her brother Keith on the show (Picture: ITV)

He was shocked to discover his sister had been searching for him (Picture: ITV)

Tracey said she’d been ‘determined’ to track him down (Picture: ITV)

After being told of his mother’s circumstances and how he came to be adopted, as well as her death nine years ago, Keith commented on how ‘life can be cruel sometimes’.

However, Keith was eventually reunited with his sister, with the emotional moment captured by cameras for the show.

Many viewers shared they were left in tears tuning in.

‘Such a sad story, his poor mum, he’s so like her.  So happy for Keith finding his family,’ Teena posted on X.

The siblings have now reconnected after so many years apart (Picture: ITV)

Tracey has since introduced Keith to the rest of their family (Picture: ITV)

‘How can you not be moved watching,’ Lauren commented.

‘Only 15 minutes in and Long Lost Family has broken me,’ Angela added.

Several others said it was incredibly ‘sad’ what so many women had to go through giving up their children.

Since filming, Tracey has introduced Keith to their other siblings and extended family.

Long Lost Family airs Mondays at 9pm on ITV1.

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