23 Years After She Was Given For Adoption Jack Wagner Meets His Long-Lost Daughter: "You Don’t Know Who I Am, Do You?"
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23 Years After She Was Given For Adoption Jack Wagner Meets His Long-Lost Daughter: "You Don’t Know Who I Am, Do You?"
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A father-daughter relationship is one of the most important in a woman’s life. Dad is the first man you will ever love. However, sometimes a girl meets her real father only when she is grown up and it is always a tear-jerking moment.
Jack Wagner is well-known for his roles in soap operas, including Santa Barbara, General Hospital, and Melrose Place. The actor’s life hasn’t been without drama either, and one unexpected turn of events that happened in 2011 sounds more like a plot twist in one of the movies he starred in.
Jack Wagner reunites with his long-lost daughter
Back in the ‘80s, Jack Wagner was known as a playboy. He had a brief relationship with a girl, who called him in 1988 to say she had his baby and put her up for adoption.
Jack called a lawyer and learned his legal options were limited, he said in an interview with People. He didn’t know if he would ever have an opportunity to meet his daughter.
Fast-forward to November 2011. Jack is a divorced father of two teenage sons. He is just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida, about to perform as a guest artist at the Rick Springfield Cruise. Suddenly, there’s a knock at his door.
He opens the door, and a young girl throws herself into his arms. Speaking on Oprah’s Where Are They Now? he recalled the conversation:
She says, ‘You don’t know who I am, do you?’
I said, ‘No’, and she says, ‘I’m your daughter.’
OWN / YouTube
Jack Wagner and his daughter
Jack was so happy when he finally met his daughter, Kerry. He recalled on Where Are They Now?:
She did come into my life in that very unusual way, she went on the cruise with me. We spent five days together getting to know each other and connecting. And we did a DNA test and she is my daughter. And it’s a real blessing, it’s been a real gift for me.
OWN / YouTube
A few months after their first meeting, Jack and Kerry gave an interview to Anderson Cooper. Kerry recalled the overwhelming emotions they both felt at that moment:
I just hugged him, and we are hugging and I’m crying hysterically, and he’s probably like, ‘Who the hell is this crazy girl crying hysterically?’
Jack chimed in:
The security guards are crying, everyone is crying now.
Anderson / YouTube
Kerry went on:
So he pulls me apart, we stare in each other’s eyes for a minute, and he kind of has this inquisitive look on his face, and I said, ‘You don’t know who I am, do you? I’m your daughter.’
He started crying at that point and he hugged me so tight and the first words he said were, ‘I knew this day would come.’
Anderson / YouTube
Jack had long hoped that his daughter would find him, and when this day arrived, his life suddenly had a new meaning. He told People:
She’s the new light in my life, as well as my sons, and I’m really grateful to her for having the courage to find me.
What an amazing reunion! It’s really wonderful that they finally met after a long separation. The father and daughter finally look so happy together. The famous actor didn’t get to watch Kerry grow up, but now he has an opportunity to be with his girl. We wish them many happy moments together.
