If you’ve ever watched a rerun of Maury on YouTube, there are only two possible thoughts that can run through your head: 1) Does a paternity test going the way you want somehow miraculously give you the ability to do a backflip? And more importantly, 2) where are these “Maury babies” now?
Maury Povich started his eponymous talk show in 1991. As the 1990s wore on — especially post–the O.J. Simpson court case — it became clear that the only way to survive and compete in an increasingly crowded daytime slot was to go big. Oprah Winfrey was creating culture-defining moments with celebrities like Tom Cruise, Jerry Springer proved there were no limits to shock-jock tactics, and Maury began showing Americans just how many fathers wanted no part in their children’s lives.
Today, a lot has changed. These shows have long since left the airwaves, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a Gen Zer who understands the shame once attached to appearing on them. Nowadays being part of a reality television cast is often considered cool. According to the New York Post, Melissa Rose, 42, had been so ashamed of her appearance on Maury that she waited until her daughter, Reanna Madura, 25, became an adult before finally revealing that she was a “Maury baby.”
“I was a senior in high school, and on a random day my mom sat me down and said, ‘You were on the Maury show as a paternity test baby,’” Reanna recalled. “She thought I was going to be upset, but I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so cool!’” These days, Reanna works at a call center in Chicago and is a mother herself — and as they say, nothing makes you more empathetic toward your parents than having kids of your own.
Melissa was relieved that her daughter wasn’t judging her. In fact, Reanna had follow-up questions. She wanted to know why her mother went on the show. Melissa explained that she became pregnant in 1999 at the age of 16, saying, “I made a phone call to the show because, at the time, you couldn’t just buy an over-the-counter DNA test at your local pharmacy.”
Melissa asked that her former boyfriend’s name be withheld from the story to respect his privacy, though the father wanted no part in his future child’s life. Reanna’s mother reiterated that her decision to appear on the show was purely financial. “Those tests cost around $2,500 back then,” Melissa said. “I was just an uneducated teenager with very little guidance who wanted the best for my kid.”
When Reanna finally watched the episode featuring her mother and biological father, she wasn’t embarrassed at all. Instead, she said she saw Melissa as strong for confronting a man who wanted to abdicate his responsibility as a father.
Reanna’s infancy didn’t go on to affect her life negatively. Melissa was able to do a good job, becoming an active member of her school cheerleading team and the eldest sibling of two.
“I love that I’m a ‘Maury’ baby,” Reanna said. “I tell everyone I meet. It’s my favorite icebreaker.”
