Rosemary Moreland grew up with the extraordinary belief that she was a ‘cuckoo in the nest’ and the family that brought her up, was not blood-related. And a special episode of Long Lost Family that airs on Monday, June 6, shows her feelings were proven to be true.
“I don’t know how I knew, I don’t know when I knew but I’ve always known that I was swapped at birth,” said Rosemary, who was desperate to find out the truth about her birth parents. Rosemary's case is described as “an investigation more complicated than [they've] ever taken on before” by Long Lost Family host Davina McCall. Recently, the popular ITV series reunited a Welshman, who was found in a brown paper bag as a baby, with his birth family. You can read about that here.
In the new episode, viewers are introduced to 77-year-old Rosemary, who lives in Sussex but was born in Weymouth in 1944. Of her upbringing, Rosemary said that she felt “universally loved” but although very close to her three siblings, she said that she has always felt different to them. Following her adopted-parents’ deaths, she took on a maternal role within the family and it was here that her heritage came under question. After taking a DNA test, Rosemary found out that her suspicions were true.
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Rosemary’s journey of discovery begins with a chat with cousin, Nicky. The two discuss the childhood rumours of Rosemary’s background that took place during the 1940s. Nicky tells her cousin that she’d “always wondered when [they] would have the conversation” about her heritage.
“I was always told that you were born in a nursing home in Weymouth,” she tells Rosemary, “You were accidentally switched with another baby.” She goes on to tell her that her grandmother had told her that Rosemary was born during the night of an air-raid. According to Nicky, their grandmother said, “this isn’t the same baby,” after the war-time incident.
Rosemary, who never spoke to her ‘parents’ about her heritage, contacted the Long Lost Family team to uncover the truth about her birth mother and father. Upon returning to the air-raid shelter where she was swapped, questions began to arise about her counterpart, who was also swapped. The counterpart in question is revealed to be 77-year-old Jackie, who only appears briefly in the programmes, saying the situation had been “a lot to take in”.
After chatting to Long Lost Family’s search lead, co-host Nicky Campbell uncovers the connection between Rosemary and Jackie. The latter’s brother, Richard, revealed to Nicky that despite being unaware of his sister’s swapping, Jackie did “cry a lot” as a baby and therefore, he believes that she had sensed something was not right.
Richard described him and his sister as being like “chalk and cheese” and now, thanks to Long Lost Family, there is a reason for this. He said that he is keen to meet his birth sister, Rosemary.
When Davina informed Rosemary of the news, she described how she was “over the moon” at the revelation. She finds out that her genetic mother was an usher at the Weymouth pavilion. One week later, Rosemary travelled back to Weymouth to meet her brother, Richard.
“I’m jolly lucky that I had two families,” said Rosemary as she prepared to meet her ‘new’ sibling. Richard shared photos of their parents and tells his sister that their family name is Stone. “It’s very difficult,” Rosemary told him. They both agree that they need to take things slowly as they begin their new relationship. The title card at the end of the episode revealed that the pair “continue to move forward slowly”.
Long Lost Family Special: Switched at Birth airs on ITV at 9pm on Monday, June 6
