Chester adopted woman reads letter from dead birth mother

Chester adopted woman reads letter from dead birth mother

This is the heart-breaking moment an adopted woman read a letter from her birth mother only to find out she died before they could be reunited.

Single mother-of-three Cathie Cutler-Evans, from Chester, north west England, appeared on ITV's documentary series, Long Lost Family, in the hope of finding her birth mother, Adrienne Powell, after more than 50 years apart.

But the barber shop owner was distraught when the programme had to tell her that her mother had died in 2012.

Before finding out, Cathie told the programme: 'I don't know her, but she's my mum. She held, and loved me, and cared for me, knowing that she would never see me again. There will always be that bit of me that belongs to her - and I need to know who that person is.'

Cathie, who grew up on the Wirral, knew from an early age that her parents had adopted her - but did not begin asking questions about it until she was a teenager.

She said: 'I was probably about 14 or 15 and I said to mum - so what is all this adoption about? Where do I come from?'

Her adopted mother then took Cathie upstairs and showed her an old tin box with a letter in it that had been given to the parents from Adrienne. 

Heart-broken: Single mother-of-three Cathie Cutler-Evans (pictured), from Chester, north west England, appeared on ITV's documentary series, Long Lost Family, in the hope of finding her birth mother, Adrienne Powell, after more than 50 years apart

Tragic: Cathie's adopted mother took her upstairs and showed her an old tin box with a letter in it that had been given to the parents from Adrienne

She told her Adrienne, from Birkenhead, was 19 and single when she had given birth to Cathie in 1964 - and wanted her daughter to be part of a family.

The letter said: 'To Catherine's mummy and daddy, please don't ever stop loving Catherine, even when she's naughty.

'And if ever she asks why I gave her away, please try and help her understand it was because I loved her so much.

'Thank you once again, and may you always be a happy family. Adrienne.'

Too late: The barber shop owner (left) was distraught when the programme had to tell her that her mother (right) had died in 2012. But Cathie was delighted to meet her half sister, Ann (centre, with Cathie) for the first time

Reacting to the letter, Cathie said: 'When I first read it, I couldn't comprehend that that had come from my birth mother.

'She obviously really, really, really loved me. It was life-changing because I'd never known about Adrienne, and all of a sudden she was a real person.

'I imagine meeting her, and touching her and holding her, and having that instant connection.' 

But, heart-breakingly, Cathie found out she had acted too late to get back in contact with her mother, because Adrienne passed away in 2012.

Nicky Campbell (left) and Davina McCall (right) who present ITV's Long Lost Family

But Adrienne did have two other children, and later in the programme Cathie was able to meet her long lost half sister, Ann Beggs.  

Mother-of-four Ann, who met Cathie for the first time on last night's programme, said it was her 'lifelong dream' to meet her half sister. 

The sisters plan to spend the rest of their lives getting to know each other, and Ann will share with Cathie every memory of their mother she can think of.

Silver lining: Adrienne did have two other children, and later in the programme Cathie was able to meet her long lost half sister, Ann Beggs

Social media users told of their sympathy for Cathie. Vicky Blinston said: 'Honestly can't cope with this, heart is breaking for Cathie #longlostfamily'.

Sarah Dan added: 'So very sad Cathie's mum died before they could meet. But an amazing reunion between sisters, a very special bond.'

While @gs_mick said: 'Please don't show Cathie being told her mum's died... I couldn't cope.'

قالب وردپرس

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: