Greetings, Abby I married the daughter of my supervisor and am a former Marine. I’ll refer to her as Zoe. I was excellent buddies with him. In 1997, Zoe and I got divorced. I discovered during the marriage that he wasn’t her biological father. Unintentionally, a family secret was revealed.
Ellie is the daughter of Zoe and me. I was enraged to learn that she wasn’t mine when she was thirteen. Since I was the only parent she had ever known and it wouldn’t make a difference, I finally came to accept Ellie as my own.
Years later, I’ve been married again and brought up two stepsons as my own. Ellie has three children. There are moments when I want to be honest with her, and other times I simply want to let things go. What should I actually do? — REPEATS OF HISTORY IN ALABAMA
Greetings, HR You are a responsible, kind man. I’m going to presume you and Ellie have a friendly, continuing connection. Even though you have always loved your daughter, she should know that you are not her real father. Does anyone have any idea who he might be? This is crucial information that she might want to know in case her children inherit any health issues that run in her bio-dad’s family.
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Abigail Van Buren, better known as Jeanne Phillips, is the author of Dear Abby. Her mother, Pauline Phillips, began the company. For more information, visit www.DearAbby.com or send an email to P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
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