I strongly suspect that I have half-siblings. I know who they are and think I could find contact information easily enough and could ask them. But I have no idea if they know they may have half-siblings.
My father cheated on my mother for many years with his secretary. During this time, the secretary had children. I found a wedding photo of one of the now adult children in an old newspaper online, and also found a photo of the secretary’s husband, the father of record of this offspring. I put those together with a photo of my father. I think the son looks much more like my father than like her husband, and nearly all the dozen or so friends I’ve polled say so too. All these possible siblings are now in their 50s or 60s and their mother is long dead as is my father.
I am interested enough to contact them and learn what the entire extended family looked like from their side of the gulf. However, I don’t know if they have any idea their mother cheated with another married man. If they have a rosy and innocent understanding of their mother and would be hurt to learn otherwise, I sure don’t want to upset things. I’m curious and trying to understand my own family, but don’t need to hurt others in the process.
How might I test this out? Are there web sites that let people find each other if and only if both sides want to? Are there other means out there to do the same? A lost relatives service of some kind?
Thanks!!