Father and daughter meet for the first time after genetic match

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A wish come true this Father's Day weekend for a 31-year-old woman who never knew her dad. We were at Mitchell International Airport Friday afternoon where the two met for the first time.

Jennifer Day tells us she's been waiting for this day her whole life. She tried Ancestry.com back in 2017 with no luck, but nearly six years later, a match finally happened.

That was April 6. Two months later, Day's dad Paul Zervopoulos is waiting in Concourse C, flowers in hand. He's learned a few things about the daughter he never knew he had. Her favorite color -- pink.

"She has three online shop platforms. Smart girl," said Paul Zervopoulos.

While Day jumped on Ancestry in 2017, Zervopoulos is new to it. He turned to genetic testing after being diagnosed with a cyst in his brain, and never expected a parent-child match.

"I didn't go to sleep that night, so a lot of thoughts, a lot of emotion, felt violated at the same time I felt joy. So, I sent the woman a message saying hey how you doing, we showed up as a parent-child match and I have some questions for you. Couple hours later I get a message back saying oh my god, you're my dad, I've been looking for you my whole life," said Zervopoulos.

Now, it's Zervopoulos who's looking for his girl.

"They're on the tarmac, waiting for a gate assignment at this point," said Zervopoulos.

She's on an afternoon flight from Houston. Anticipation is high.

"How many people did they have on that plane?" said Zervopoulos.

As passengers from the flight leave, the waiting is finally over.

"Coming out of the gate and then coming over here, it's just, my heart's still racing," said Day.

"She's definitely my daughter (smiles)" said Zervopoulos.

The two stand side-by-side, looking forward to their first Father's Day together.

"I can’t describe it. No words can describe how this means to me right now," said Day.

"Her personality is almost identical to mine and it's just mind blowing. I didn't have the opportunity to influence her, her entire life and here she is, 31 years old and her personality's very similar to mine," said Zervopoulos.

"Since I was little when I could comprehend like birthday wishes every year, I would wish that I could like find or meet my dad. I really do think Ancestry came through and the process, it's a long process so expect to wait if it's not there but, you'll get answers eventually," said Day.

Jennifer Day says through the years, it was easy to feel hopeless, like she'd never find her dad. She says if that's you, don't give up.