ITV's Long Lost Family: What Happened Next? aired heartbreaking scenes on Monday, August 8, after it explores what happened after a man met his father for the first time. In 2018, the Long Lost Family team took on the case of Pearse Egan, who grew up in the Republic of Ireland with single mum, Anne.
A 17-year-old Anne met Pearse’s father, Eddie Santos, whilst he was a security guard in New York. Shortly after falling pregnant, Anne made the decision to move back to Northern Ireland to have Pearse, meaning that until 2018, Eddie had never met his son. In a tragic revelation, Pearse describes that following their first meeting, it has been difficult to build a relationship as Eddie has had both a heart attack and contracted coronavirus.
Reuniting with host Davina McCall, Pearse tells her: “To be honest, it’s one of those things. I didn’t know what I had until it went.” He adds that Eddie hasn’t been as “vocal” since then, due to the constraints of his medical treatment. Pearse stresses that not only had that been “tough” but also, the huge distance between them. He says that he has been to New York “three or four times” since he first met his father and is doing his utmost to slowly build a relationship with him.
“I feel very connected, very grounded and very happy about it all,” Pearse adds. Little did he know that when he met his father, he would gain more new family members. He would learn of half-brother, Nick Kucharski's, existence. The pair meet in London during the episode.
Although the brothers grew up in different continents (Nick in New York), their childhoods were not dissimilar. Pearse finds out that Eddie wasn’t involved in raising his other son either.
“Knowing that there was someone who had similar experiences to me, gave me a huge sense of validation,” Nick said as he told his new sibling of their shared connection. He describes how he is less keen to build a relationship with Eddie, as his father left his mother whilst they were both living in Manhattan. Despite this, Pearse doesn’t resent him for this. He shows him his stand-up comedy routine at the end of the episode.
“The friendship that Nick and I have developed is something we both didn’t ever see happening,” says Pearse after the comedy gig. He continues: “To have that connection is more than I could have ever imagined.” A title card at the end of the episode reveals that Pearse has since visited his ill father in Brazil.
Long Lost Family: What Happened Next? airs on ITV on Monday, August 8 at 9pm
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