TikTok creator Bailey, who posts as @heyitsbailey08, says she discovered she had been adopted at 13 after finding adoption papers in a cabinet in her mother’s desk. In a video recounting the experience, she said the documents changed what she thought she knew about her family. The Daily Dot reported that the video had received 635,700 views and 429 comments at the time of publication.
Bailey said she had never questioned the story of her family before finding the papers. She recalled that the documents had not been signed until she was six, when the man she knew as her father legally adopted her. She said he had raised her and she had used his surname.
According to Bailey, her mother became pregnant as a teenager. The man Bailey initially believed was her biological father was dating another woman, and he did not want to be involved when he learned about the pregnancy. Bailey said her mother later contacted him after marrying the man who raised her, so he could consent to the adoption. The papers were eventually finalized, she said.
Bailey said that after learning about the adoption, she wanted to meet her biological father. Her mother contacted him, but he initially declined because his family did not know Bailey existed. Bailey said they met when she was 18 and she believed he was her biological father for another four years. She ended the video by inviting viewers to return for a second part of her story.
Her account prompted TikTok users to share their own experiences with adoption and discuss being open with children about family history. Some commenters also noted that two brown-eyed parents can have a blue-eyed child, responding to Bailey’s mention of her parents’ eye colors as a detail she had once wondered about.
The Daily Dot said it could not independently verify Bailey’s claims, which are based on her personal account.
Sources: The Daily Dot.