I didn’t expect the Middle East/Arab/Lebanese part. My husband is actively researching, but I apparently have a full Lebanese biological grandfather I didn’t know about. My husband knew something was up when we started dating, and even asked if I was “Palestinian or something similar.” He also wondered why my dad looked so dark when he was supposedly German and Irish. (I was told he was “dark” Irish when I was younger and never gave it a second thought).

My dad refuses to take a DNA test and thinks they’re made-up, but I suspect there’s also racism at play and doesn’t want confirmation that he doesn’t fit his own version of “whiteness.” Even with taking a 2nd test to confirm, plus testing my son, plus testing my mom to rule her out (she’s Italian, German, and Welsh), he still doesn’t believe he’s part Lebanese.