A mother’s love story blossoms from a family reunion 40 years in the making
When Helen Mansfield took to social media in search of her biological mother, she could never have foreseen the good fortune she’d bring about - not only to herself, but to those she held most dear, too.
It was in 2016 that Helen posted to Facebook, hoping to connect with her mother - who had given her up when Helen was only 10 days old.
And a mere five hours later, someone did reach out, informing Helen that her mother was in the United Kingdom, and that her name was Glenda Joy.
Helen, on the other hand, was in Perth, Australia. She’d been adopted by a Welsh couple, but had moved to Perth after marrying an Australian - with whom she shares two daughters.
Four decades of mystery had gone by, but after that stranger on Facebook had set her on the right path, things had quickly fallen into place.
As Helen informed 7News, “straight away, we knew each other. [She] gave me a big hug and said ‘I feel I just won the lottery’.”
It should have marked the end of that happy chapter for Helen and Glen, but Helen’s adoptive dad, Gwyn, had other ideas.
Because when Helen introduced the two - as her biological mother and her adoptive father - they immediately felt a connection, and set out on a number of adventures together, enjoying everything from the cricket to the beach, and last but certainly not least, a kiss.
“I went in to Helen,” Glen recounted, “and I said ‘I’ve got something to say’.
“I said ‘your dad kissed me’.”
Glen added that she hadn’t been expecting it, but that wasn’t a bad thing, as she’d very much “wanted it to happen”.
And it was only good times from there, with the unexpected couple getting married in the United Kingdom after enjoying a commitment ceremony in Perth with Helen as their joyous celebrant.
They have every intention of returning to Australia, too, for a trip packed full of celebration with Gwyn’s 80th and the upcoming birth of a great-grandchild.
But at the end of the day, Helen is “just really happy it happened”, and holds hope in her heart that their story will offer encouragement to anyone else in a similar position, searching for their biological or long-lost families.
“I hope that anybody else - you know, it probably won’t go this far because this is a different story - but anybody else who wants to reach out and find their birth mother,” she added, “should try and do it.”
Images: 7News